Today the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill passed Stage Three of the Scottish Parliament, meaning it will progress to royal assent and become law. The Bill passed unanimously, with support from all parties and without any amendments at Stage Two or Stage Three.

You can read more about the Bill here, but it is in effect making clear in the text of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 a change that has been present in law since a court ruling in 2022.

The version of the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act which passed in 2018, and which aimed to increase the representation of women on the boards of certain Scottish Public Bodies, included a trans-inclusive definition of “woman”. Following the court ruling in 2022, which found that legislating on the definition of woman was outside of the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, the Equality Act 2010 definition of woman has applied instead, meaning the only trans women who would be included in the Act would be those with gender recognition certificates.

So this Bill does not change the law, but makes sure that the 2018 Act now reflects the way the law has worked since the 2022 court ruling – and had to be passed as a result of that ruling.