Current status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 14 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-03876 by Kaukab Stewart on 31 October 2024, in which the minister stated that people "can either be male or female", what progress it is making with the Non-Binary Equality Action Plan, and whether it remains its position that many people identify with neither a male or a female gender.
In law, including under the Equality Act 2010, people are either male or female.
The Scottish Government recognises that many people may identify differently. Scotland’s Census 2022 showed that almost half of people who responded to the question on trans status or history identified as non-binary. We know too that depending on the circumstances, the law on gender reassignment discrimination might protect non-binary people.
The Scottish Government is committed to advancing equality for all LGBTQI+ people, and promoting, protecting and realising the rights of every LGBTQI+ person in Scotland. This includes trans people, and non-binary people who do not identify as either male or female.
The Non-Binary Equality Action Plan 2023-28, published last November, aims to improve equality and bring about real, positive and lasting change to the lives of non-binary people.
We will soon publish our first Progress Report which will provide detail on the steps which we have made so far towards achieving the actions in the Plan.