Gender

The first casualty of the gender recognition regime is freedom of speech, writes barrister Naomi Cunningham. Section 29(2)(d) of the Scotland Act 1998 provides that an Act of the Scottish Parliament is not law so far is it is incompatible with any of the Convention rights. The UK government may not

Former Dean of Faculty and Advocate General of Scotland, Lord Keen of Elie KC, has suggested that UK ministers should block Scotland's Gender Recognition Reform Bill. The Conservative peer urged the UK government to consider availing itself of section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998.

The International Bar Association (IBA) has launched a toolkit to "empower female legal professionals". Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that gender disparity in world societies and labour markets has a $12 trillion impact on the global economy. Thi

The Scottish government has paid For Women Scotland (FWS) £147,500 after the group won a case against ministers earlier this year. The government had attempted to redefine “woman” in the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 and allow transgender women to occup

The lives of women and girls in Afghanistan are being devastated by the Taliban’s crackdown on their human rights, Amnesty International has said in a new report. Since they took control of the country in August 2021, the Taliban have violated women’s and girls’ rights to education

A fresh legal case on the definition of 'woman' is being brought against the Scottish government on the basis it has failed to comply with an order of the Court of Session made in an earlier case. For Women Scotland is seeking judicial review of the Scottish government's statutory guidance on the Ge

New research into the gender pay gap in the legal profession has found 84 per cent of women in law believe they won’t see true gender pay equality in their working life, while 29 per cent said it won’t happen in the next 100 years. Over half (54 per cent) of female legal professionals be

Two "equality experts" specialising in women’s representation and participation, and labour market equality will take forward the next phase of work to "realise gender equality" in Scotland. Talat Yaqoob, co-founder of Women 5050, the national campaign for fair representation of women in polit

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to the Scottish government, warning it against simplifying the legal requirements for gender recognition. LGBT+ equality campaigners said the EHRC's approach was “deeply troubling” and that it was “failing to stand up for equalit

Gender inequality and improving women’s experiences within the justice system will be addressed by a new Scottish government panel. Members will examine the experiences of women as both victims and offenders in a range of settings including policing, community justice, criminal and civil court

A petition seeking judicial review of guidance accompanying the sex question on the Scottish census will be heard by the Court of Session next month. Fair Play For Women is instructing Dean of Faculty, Roddy Dunlop QC, in the case.

Philip Alston, the John Norton Pomeroy professor of law at NYU School of Law, argues that gender diversity on the International Court of Justice must be taken more seriously. In Is There a Special Practice?, Antonios Tzanakopoulos has written a very learned post seeking to dispel the notion that the

A draft law has been approved by the Spanish government that would let children as young as 14 change their legal gender with no medical diagnosis. The bill has been prepared by the country's Equality Ministry, led by the left-wing Podemos party, and would permit people 16 and over to change their n

Scotland's legal profession "has to change" to reflect the progressive values it promotes in society, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said in an interview with her alma mater. As part of its celebrations to mark the centenary of women being allowed to practise law, the University of Gla

The UK's only gender identity clinic for under-18s has lost a high-profile High Court battle over whether under-16s can consent to treatment with puberty blockers. The NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) based at Tavistock NHS Trust has, since 2011, prescribed puberty blockers (PBs) to so