Article
Archive
A train driver insisted they were not transgender but “just ugly” when challenged by colleagues after the Supreme Court ruling on gender.
The unnamed driver made the remark following April’s ruling, in which the highest judges in the country said “sex” in equality law refers to biological sex.
The “just ugly” comment was quoted in a submission made by Aslef, the train drivers’ trade union, to an Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) consultation.
In its submission, Aslef said: “Since the ruling, there have been examples of our members being questioned about their biological sex by colleagues to the level where one member felt the need to explain to their colleagues that ‘they are just ugly’.
“We are seriously concerned that similar situations may arise where women in particular are queried about their biological sex to the extent that a birth certificate may be requested and the certificate itself even then queried further.”
In April, the Supreme Court unanimously declared that trans women are not legally women.
Campaigners celebrate the Supreme Court decision on the definition of ‘woman’ in law, in April
Credit: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty
Such people are born male and have chosen to identify as women. Many have obtained gender recognition certificates (GRCs) from the Government stating they are female.
The Supreme Court case arose because the Scottish Government had refused to accept that trans women are not women, arguing that a trans woman with a GRC could not be refused access to women’s changing rooms and toilets.
Judges noted that protections for pregnant women set out in the Equality Act 2010 would collapse unless “man” and “woman” had a clear biological meaning.
Some, including Labour ministers, have insisted that trans-identifying men should still be treated as women, regardless of the court’s ruling.
Sir Chris Bryant and Dame Angela Eagle both railed against Baroness Falkner, the EHRC chief, in messages posted to a ministerial WhatsApp group. Baroness Falkner had said trans women would have to be banned from women-only spaces.
Aslef appears to have joined the ranks of those pushing back against the ruling.
“As a trans woman could breastfeed it is not clear if they would be protected from discrimination,” the union continued in its submission to the EHRC consultation.
Just under one in every five railway workers is a woman, according to the National Skills Academy for Rail’s annual survey of train staff. No data is available for the number of trans-identifying workers in the industry.
Baroness Falkner said at the start of July: “At the EHRC, it’s our job to provide authoritative advice on how the Equality Act should be put into practice – to help service providers comply with the law and give service users confidence that they are doing so.
“Now the consultation deadline has passed, we will carefully consider the information submitted to us and amend the code of practice where necessary.”
A spokesman for Aslef failed to respond to a request for comment.
Archive
A train driver insisted they were not transgender but “just ugly” when challenged by colleagues after the Supreme Court ruling on gender.
The unnamed driver made the remark following April’s ruling, in which the highest judges in the country said “sex” in equality law refers to biological sex.
The “just ugly” comment was quoted in a submission made by Aslef, the train drivers’ trade union, to an Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) consultation.
In its submission, Aslef said: “Since the ruling, there have been examples of our members being questioned about their biological sex by colleagues to the level where one member felt the need to explain to their colleagues that ‘they are just ugly’.
“We are seriously concerned that similar situations may arise where women in particular are queried about their biological sex to the extent that a birth certificate may be requested and the certificate itself even then queried further.”
In April, the Supreme Court unanimously declared that trans women are not legally women.
Campaigners celebrate the Supreme Court decision on the definition of ‘woman’ in law, in April
Credit: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty
Such people are born male and have chosen to identify as women. Many have obtained gender recognition certificates (GRCs) from the Government stating they are female.
The Supreme Court case arose because the Scottish Government had refused to accept that trans women are not women, arguing that a trans woman with a GRC could not be refused access to women’s changing rooms and toilets.
Judges noted that protections for pregnant women set out in the Equality Act 2010 would collapse unless “man” and “woman” had a clear biological meaning.
Some, including Labour ministers, have insisted that trans-identifying men should still be treated as women, regardless of the court’s ruling.
Sir Chris Bryant and Dame Angela Eagle both railed against Baroness Falkner, the EHRC chief, in messages posted to a ministerial WhatsApp group. Baroness Falkner had said trans women would have to be banned from women-only spaces.
Aslef appears to have joined the ranks of those pushing back against the ruling.
“As a trans woman could breastfeed it is not clear if they would be protected from discrimination,” the union continued in its submission to the EHRC consultation.
Just under one in every five railway workers is a woman, according to the National Skills Academy for Rail’s annual survey of train staff. No data is available for the number of trans-identifying workers in the industry.
Baroness Falkner said at the start of July: “At the EHRC, it’s our job to provide authoritative advice on how the Equality Act should be put into practice – to help service providers comply with the law and give service users confidence that they are doing so.
“Now the consultation deadline has passed, we will carefully consider the information submitted to us and amend the code of practice where necessary.”
A spokesman for Aslef failed to respond to a request for comment.
