Opportunities reserved for girls

Know the law and use that knowledge (and our template email) to raise concerns about entry criteria.

Some areas of study and work are heavily male-dominated, such as science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), in schools and universities and then in workplaces. That’s why it’s not unusual to see a programme, event or opportunity aimed at women or girls, to encourage girls into STEM subjects, for example, or to ensure that there is female representation on company boards. 

We’re talking about programmes with names like “Girls into science”. They may be run by government departments, universities or professional bodies. There are also prizes and competitions for women’s writing, bursaries, scholarships and prizes for women to get into particular areas of education. 

This type of programme is allowed as a form of positive action under the Equality Act 2010, to address under-representation. Positive action is a range of measures which can be lawfully taken to encourage and train people from under-represented groups to help them overcome disadvantages.

It’s useful for girls who may not see that these subjects could be for them, and it’s beneficial to attract the best talent from the whole population and not just the male half. 

But some programmes have specified that “anyone who identifies as a girl” or “self-identifying women” are eligible. This would mean girls plus boys who claim to be girls, but minus any girl who claims to be non-binary or “identifies as” a boy. Such a category does not serve the legitimate purpose of such positive action, and it is not lawful. 

This was made clear in the first For Women Scotland case (which they won in 2022), where Lady Dorrian concluded:

“Thus an exception which allows the Scottish Parliament to take steps relating to the inclusion of women, as having a protected characteristic of sex, is limited to allowing provision to be made in respect of a “female of any age”. Provisions in favour of women, in this context, by definition exclude those who are biologically male.” 

It was confirmed by the Supreme Court in FWS2 that this applies whether someone has a gender recognition certificate or not. 

Where a duty bearer under the Equality Act takes positive action for women it must be for women.

Female people form a coherent group whose members share needs and disadvantages. The group is a legitimate target for positive action such as an event or competition for girls, which can be based on evidence of underrepresentation or shared disadvantage. But a group that is based on “gender identity” is not. 

We have recently written to several such programmes to ask that they adopt lawful entry criteria, and they have made the change needed to bring their programmes into line with the law. This is progress. We have shared these details with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

If you see anything similar, you can take action. We have produced a generic version of our letter that you can use to contact an organisation that you think is acting unlawfully. 

This letter relates to general positive action (s.158 of the Equality Act). You will need a different letter if you are writing about competitive sport.