Protected characteristics: sex

Sex refers to whether a person is a man or a woman; the Equality Act 2010 sees sex as binary, either male or female. It is illegal to discriminate against a person if:

• the person is (or is not) a particular sex
• someone thinks the person is of the opposite sex (discrimination by perception)
• the person is connected to someone of a particular sex (discrimination by association)

Under the Act, a person’s legal sex is the sex that is recorded on their birth certificate or on their Gender Recognition Certificate. A transgender person can change their legal sex by obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (2020) noted that there are four main types of sex-based discrimination:

1. Direct discrimination – when someone treats a person worse because of their sex, than someone of the opposite sex who is in a similar situation
2. Indirect discrimination – when