The announcement was unexpected. For weeks, the Government has struggled with the fallout from the Supreme Court’s ruling on the meaning of the word “woman”. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is on the frontline of the conflict between trans activists and people who believe in biological sex, so the identity of its new chair — due to replace Baroness Kishwer Falkner in the autumn — is crucial.

Various names had been floated, some of them leading Labour figures with a track record of sympathy for gender ideology. So the woman who finally emerged as the Government’s preferred candidate last week — Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, an economist with a history of support for feminist causes — has been welcomed with relief. Women who know Stephenson believe she will be fair and robust, which is certainly needed after the abuse that’s been heaped on Falkner.

It’s also raised the possibility that Keir Starmer has quietly come to the conclusion that Labour’s long history of trying to please trans organisations is no longer tenable. The Prime Minister took almost a week to respond to the Supreme Court ruling, finally saying he welcomed its “clarity”. He also said it’s important that “all guidance is in the right place according to that judgment”.

That’s the job of the EHRC, which is why his choice of a candidate who apparently has mildly gender-critical views is so significant. Stephenson has in the past spoken to feminist organisations such as FiLiA on issues such as female poverty, and that was enough to prompt a flurry of abuse on social media. A post on X claimed that Stephenson is a “transphobe” while an obscure group called Pride in Labour declared it was “alarmed” by her appointment.

That was to be expected, given that the EHRC is firmly in the sights of trans-friendly organisations who do not like its interim guidance that individuals must use facilities that accord with their biological sex. It’s currently holding a consultation on responses to the Supreme Court ruling, in advance of issuing an updated code of conduct later this year.

Last week it was taken to court by the human rights organisation Liberty, which claimed the consultation should last 12 weeks rather than six. Liberty lost, but it was a skirmish in what promises to be a blizzard of legal actions. Few of these actions are believed to have merit, but they are a sign of the rocky road ahead for the EHRC under its new chair.

Stephenson is likely to get an unfriendly reception when she appears before the Women and Equalities committee, one of two parliamentary committees that will hold pre-appointment hearings. Its chair, Labour MP Sarah Owen, is on record as believing “trans women are women”, a statement at odds with the Supreme Court ruling. Owen has claimed that many transgender people are “anxious and unsure about where this ruling leaves them”.

Starmer must have anticipated — and prepared for — the reaction to Stephenson’s appointment. Perhaps he’s finally realised he has to choose between offending zealots in the parliamentary party and the general public, who’ve had enough of rainbow flags and “gender-neutral” facilities. The appointment is a step in the right direction, but no one should expect a sudden conversion to common sense among activists who turned support for trans-identified men into an article of faith.

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Joan Smith is a novelist and columnist. She was previously Chair of the Mayor of London’s Violence Against Women and Girls Board, and is on the advisory group for Sex Matters. Her book Unfortunately, She Was A Nymphomaniac: A New History of Rome’s Imperial Women was published in November 2024.

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