Court rules belief in biological sex is protected by Equality Act

Maya Forstater, who lost her job for defending the reality of biological sex, has won her appeal.

The former tax consultant lost her job in 2019 after tweeting that biology determines whether people are male or female, and an employment tribunal ruled she had not been treated unlawfully as ‘gender critical’ beliefs were not protected by equality law.

But Mr Justice Choudhury has now declared that the tribunal was in error and that Forstater’s beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010.

‘Vindicated’

Forstater said: “I am delighted to have been vindicated. I lost my job simply for expressing a view that is true and important, and held by the great majority of people in this country: sex matters.

“Being a woman is a material reality. It is not a costume or a feeling. Institutions that pretend sex doesn’t matter become hostile places for women, in particular.”

The employment tribunal claimed that her views were “not worthy of respect”, but on appeal the judge stated that “beliefs may well be profoundly offensive and even distressing to many others, but they are beliefs that are and must be tolerated in a pluralist society”.

Being a woman is a material reality. It is not a costume or a feeling.

The case will now go to a new tribunal to determine if her dismissal was “because of or related to” her protected belief.

Abuse

Earlier this year, Forstater spoke publicly for the first time on the case’s impact on her life and family.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the wife and mum revealed how her tweet led to the loss of her job, exposed her to abuse, and caused great distress to her husband and two sons.

“To see your mum or your wife be cancelled and to see videos on YouTube which have had millions of hits portraying me as an awful, terrible person because of my views has been really hard on them.”