Gender-Critical Views Protected Under The Equality Act

Earlier this month, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ("EAT") concluded, in the high-profile case of Forstater v CGD Europe & Ors, that gender-critical views, namely that sex is immutable is a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010.

Background

In 2018, the appellant in this case, Ms Forstater, began posting tweets that expressed her beliefs about gender identity issues as well as her opposition to legal reforms that would permit gender self-identification. While engaging in debates on social media, Ms Forstater made comments which some found offensive and transphobic. Some of those individuals were her colleagues at CGD, who subsequently lodged complaints about her regarding the matter. As a result, Ms Forstater's contract with CGD was not renewed and she subsequently made a claim to the Employment Tribunal on the basis that she had been discriminated against on the grounds of belief.