The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-14496, in the name of Tess White, on the importance of safe and fair sport for women and girls. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises the importance of safe and fair sport for women and girls as it marks Scottish Women & Girls in Sport Week, which takes place between 30 September and 6 October 2024; acknowledges the reported concerns of some that emerged during the 2024 Paris Olympics regarding the gender eligibility of two athletes in the women’s boxing competition, as well as the participation of a transgender runner in the women’s T12 200m and 400m sprints at the Paralympics; highlights the action taken by some governing sports’ bodies, including World Athletics, Fina, World Rugby and World Netball, to prevent transgender women from competing in the female category while further research is carried out into physical performance and male advantage; recognises the findings of the report, Violence against women and girls in sports, by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, including that “males’ average punching power has been measured as 162% greater than females” and that “by 30 March 2024, over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports” as a result of the introduction of a mixed-sex category; further recognises the findings of the BBC Elite British Sportswomen’s Study 2024, in which, it understands, more than 100 elite sportswomen said they would be “uncomfortable with transgender women competing in female categories in their sport”, but that they reportedly expressed fears over being seen as discriminatory if they went public with their opinions; understands that, across the north east and the rest of Scotland more widely, there is a persistent gender gap in participation rates in sport between females and males; believes that, as society seeks to tackle the barriers that prevent female participation in sport, parliamentarians, public figures and the media should be able to discuss freely the implications of inclusion policies in sport for women and girls without recrimination or condemnation, and further believes that single-sex categories in sport, from grassroots to elite level, should be protected.
16:17
I am delighted to lead the debate during Scottish women and girls in sport week 2024. I thank all members who have supported my motion, which addresses the importance of safe and fair sport for women and girls. Above all, it calls for single-sex categories for women in sport to be protected from grass-roots to elite level.
At the outset, I should say that I have worked in human resources for more than 30 years. Inclusion is therefore in my professional DNA. As I am a second-dan karate black belt, so, too, are safety and fairness. From parkrun to the Paralympics, though, we are seeing the erosion of fair and safe sport for women.
In her recently published report on violence against women and girls in sport, Reem Alsalem, a United Nations special rapporteur, cited evidence that the average punching power of men is 162 per cent greater than that of women. She referenced one study that asserts that, even in non-elite sport, the least powerful man produces more power than the most powerful woman.
How can anyone justify putting women and girls in harm’s way? Male advantage exists in sports. The fact is that males have around 40 per cent more muscle mass. Men have larger hearts, lungs and haemoglobin pools, which can feed them more oxygen. They have longer legs and narrower pelvises, which lead to better running gaits. That is why biological sex matters in sport. It has always mattered in safe and fair sporting competitions, just as weight, age and disability matter. It is about safety, fairness and creating equality of opportunity.
Society has become so captured by so-called inclusion that, rather than the playing field for women in sport being levelled, women are being marginalised even more than before.
Reem Alsalem’s report found that more than 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports when competing against biological males. So-called inclusion is leading to the exclusion of women from sport. It is the height of hypocrisy when we are working so hard to close the gender gap in sport and to encourage the participation of women and girls.
Thankfully, some sports governing bodies such as World Athletics, FINA and World Rugby have pressed pause on trans inclusion. This week, the World Darts Federation agreed that the women’s competition is for biological women only. I particularly commend the World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, for doubling down on that policy earlier this year, saying:
“it is absolutely vital that we protect, we defend, we preserve the female category.”
I could not agree more. For every male in the female category, a female is excluded. Other international and national governing bodies must follow suit, and we need greater clarity on policies around differences in sexual development.
I accept that this is a sensitive and complex topic, but it should not be a taboo topic, with women being bullied and silenced for speaking the truth. I am deeply concerned that women in sport are having to put their heads above the parapet to challenge so-called inclusion policies. One female athlete even told the BBC elite British sportswomen study 2024 that “your career is over” if you speak on it. We must be able to question the implications of trans inclusion in sport for women without condemnation or recrimination. We must be able to call for the preservation of women’s sports and challenge institutional cowardice—because that is what it is: institutional cowardice. The Equality Act 2010 is on our side.
I pay tribute to sportswomen such as Mara Yamauchi, Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies for refusing to be silenced. Charities and campaign groups such as Sex Matters, Fair Play For Women, For Women Scotland and the Women’s Rights Network should also be applauded for their work on this issue. Some of their members are in the public gallery today.
I asked former Olympian and international swimmer Sharron Davies to contribute some words to this afternoon’s debate. Drawing on her own experience of competing against testosterone-enhanced athletes in the 1980 Olympics, she said:
“Speaking up has cost me dearly ... Over the last few years, with the inclusion of males in sports categories specifically created to give females equal opportunities, thousands of males have stolen female places ... Not one single peer reviewed study can show us we can remove all male advantage ... No woman should have to die to prove the obvious ... In a combat sport, this is a huge accident waiting to happen. In any contact sport, it is gross negligence ... Men would not tolerate this inclusion if it affected their sports, but women are just expected to give up what is theirs by right ... A female protected category and an open fully inclusive category is the only answer ... Please do not throw the dreams of young girls away. They are no less worthy than our sportsmen.”
Thank you, Sharron.
We must not stand by and take away the hope from young girls in having female role models. They have to see it to be it. We must stand up for women and girls. We must protect women’s sports.
I remind all members who are seeking to speak in the debate to check whether they have pressed their request-to-speak button.
16:24
I welcome the debate and am pleased to have signed the well-worded motion. I will concentrate briefly on three themes, the first of which is the safety of women and girls. The United Nations special rapporteur has already been quoted, but I add to Tess White’s comments that female athletes are also more vulnerable to sustaining serious physical injuries when female-only sports spaces are open to men. We know that male puberty develops significant physical advantage. Put simply, male bodies are bigger, faster and stronger than female bodies. That advantage is not removed if testosterone is lessened over a short timeframe, such as 12 months.
The physical differences between men and women are easiest to demonstrate by comparing performance levels in athletics. We have two former 400m runners in the Parliament, most notably former Olympian athlete Brian Whittle, but also cabinet secretary Neil Gray. In their event, we find that elite and club-level men run 400m approximately on average five seconds faster than women—that is a very considerable difference, although I suspect that both Brian Whittle and Neil Gray would beat me by a lot more than five seconds. Thankfully, World Athletics is now studying the issue, but multiple other bodies will also need to recognise that that performance difference is true for all sports where physical attributes are significant.
My second theme is fairness. It is ironic that male sport has long recognised that fair competition can work only if there is differentiation between age, weight and other factors. I have no experience of sport at an elite level, but I have considerable experience of giving up many hours to hone my skills in music. I can only begin to fathom the anger, disappointment and distress that many female athletes feel about being asked to compete against men who identify as women. Fair competition is fundamental in sport. It allows the best to be their best, and if the basis is changed where women cannot be their best, there will be no women’s sport.
Despite the motion being well written, there is one part with which I disagree—where it refers to “inclusion policies”. I do not think that it is correct to characterise what has been happening as an inclusion policy. It is at least as much an exclusion policy, denying many female athletes in a wide range of sports the opportunity to compete.
My final theme is the wider cultural problem that has been created in recent years by the policy capture of the debate around sex and gender, which has already been alluded to. It has even got to the stage where some elected politicians feel that they cannot openly debate the issues. Cultural oppression needs challenging, and I am therefore delighted that the motion recognises that.
Coming to a close, I think that the fundamental issue is that sex is a far more meaningful and scientifically exact determinant of who should be allowed to take part in women’s sport than gender. If the situation is not challenged, the consequence will be that participation in sports will become even less attractive to women, which will undermine much of the good work of recent years. When biological men are given access to female-only changing rooms and take part in women’s team sports, they violate the rights of women, remove fairness and pose an increased risk of harm. Is it not about time that we whole-heartedly and unequivocally support the rights of women? Surely that is what a truly progressive Parliament should do.
16:29
I thank my colleague Tess White for bringing such an important debate to Parliament, and I whole-heartedly associate myself with the statements that Michelle Thomson and Tess White made in their speeches.
I cannot remember a point when I was growing up when sport was not a major factor. In primary school, I played in badminton competitions for Juniper Green, represented Edinburgh in school competitions and travelled to Wales to play for the Lothians.
At university, I had to choose between playing hockey and playing badminton. I chose hockey, and I threw myself into playing in the 1990s—I have given my age away there. At that time at the University of Edinburgh, there were only three women’s teams. It was great fun—you could always find me and my pals at Peffermill, playing or umpiring, and I made friends and memories for life.
After I graduated from university, sport—especially hockey—continued to play a pivotal role in my life. I balanced a busy corporate career with all my sport, including Watsonians hockey, where I was the Watsonian Hockey Club president and manager of the under-16s and under-18s teams. I became the east district youth team manager and then east district president.
I also umpired all through that time, which included umpiring men’s and women’s hockey at the top of the Scottish game; there were not that many women umpiring men’s hockey. Now, as injury and age catch up with me, and when time permits, I assess budding new umpires.
All that gave me life experiences and friendships that span decades and continents. I would not change a thing about my experience, and I hope that other girls and woman can have the same positive experiences that I did. That is why I wanted to speak in the debate: to highlight the unfairness that many now face in female sports.
We will all have either seen or heard about some of the controversies surrounding that issue during the Olympics, and then again in the Paralympics. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the women’s boxing in Paris, with the controversy over the gender eligibility of two competitors. Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were cleared to compete at the Paris Olympics, despite being disqualified from last year’s world championships after they were said to have failed gender eligibility tests. Both fighters won Olympic gold medals. I think that we can all agree that that has shone a damning light on an issue that clearly needs addressing. As Tess White explained in far more detail, males of equal weight and size punch 160 per cent harder on to a less dense bone structure. Therefore, biological sex is a crucial factor in ensuring that female athletes are not disadvantaged or put at risk.
In 2023, British Cycling banned transgender women from competing in the female category of competitive events, tightening its rules around participation in order to safeguard the fairness of the sport. The new rules, which came into effect at the end of 2023, divided cyclists into female and open categories. The female category remains for those with sex assigned female at birth and transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy. The open category is for male athletes, transgender women and men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth.
Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, has voiced his views about the transgender debate. Last March, in accordance with his long-stated belief that biology trumps gender, he banned athletes who had gone through male puberty from the female category in world championships and Olympic games, in order to preserve fairness in athletics.
However, the problem exists not only at the elite levels of sport. On the journey to elite sport, women will be at a constant disadvantage as they strive to win against males who are biologically stronger and taller and have increased muscle mass. Those men will take podium places from those women and their spaces in teams, excluding many women and girls from taking part at all.
We cannot escape the biological reality. It is vital that we stand up for single-sex categories in sport across all levels, from grass-roots to elite level. That should be protected. You cannot settle for protecting the 0.01 per cent at the top if you then ask every other woman and girl to accept being placed at a disadvantage. That is why I am backing Tess White’s motion, and why I will always champion single-sex categories in sport.
16:34
I am delighted to speak in the debate to celebrate Scottish women and girls in sport week, and I will focus my contribution on the huge leap forward that women and girls in Scotland have made in all areas of sport. I pay tribute to them for leading the way by being great role models and encouraging more women and girls to get active, and I applaud them for their incredible successes, which show that, as always, Scotland punches above its weight in competitive sport.
A great example of that is the fact that Celtic Football Club Women has just become the first Scottish team to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage—congratulations to them. Of course, Scotland’s women’s team have done us proud on the international stage time after time.
Those firsts are so important, given that—it is absolutely incredible to think about this—women were banned from playing football in Scotland until the 1970s. That senseless ban led the legendary Rose Reilly to leave Scotland for Italy, where she played for the Italian team and won the world cup in 1984. That is pretty impressive.
Rose Reilly was voted best player for AC Milan and went on to win a multitude of footballing awards. Incidentally, she was allowed to play for Celtic Boys Club—which had scouted her—but only if she cut her hair short and called herself Ross. That is absolutely staggering.
We have certainly come a long way, although progress is needed in tackling the gender pay gap for players. Women’s football now has a huge fan base and generates ever-increasing crowds at matches.
I want to tell members about a remarkable wee girl who lives in the east end of Glasgow. Mirrin Kennedy, who is just nine years old, was scouted by Heart of Midlothian Women Football Club just before the summer, after the club saw her play in her regional team, Finnart Girls. She now plays in the Hearts development squad, which is the first step on the pathway to the next generation of players. Young Mirrin is certainly in demand—Celtic FC Women is interested in her and she is also currently training with Kilmarnock FC Women.
All that is remarkable in itself; members will find it even more so when I inform them that Mirrin suffers from cystic fibrosis. Thankfully, she has made great progress on the Kaftrio medication and her lung function is presently normal. Nothing can stop that wee inspiration. In my view, she is the embodiment of #SheCanSheWill. At the tender age of nine, she is a star already. Her mum Ashley, her dad Robert and the wider family are beyond proud of her, as, I am sure, the whole of Scotland is. Her determination not to be held back against all odds by her condition must be an inspiration to girls from all backgrounds.
Taking part in sport has so many benefits for women and girls, both for their mental and their physical health. I was not particularly sporty at school, but I loved netball. I still remember the excitement of playing against other schools and the thrill of winning a match. I understand that sportscotland has introduced walking netball, which might be more suited to my capabilities these days.
The Scottish National Party Scottish Government is working to increase women’s and girls’ participation in sport by progressing the commitment to double investment in sport and active living to £100 million by the end of this session of Parliament.
Across all 32 local authorities in the past year, more than 129,000 girls and young women made more than 2.1 million visits to active schools sessions, with netball, football and multisport sessions proving the most popular.
Fit for girls is a national programme developed in partnership by sportscotland and the Youth Sport Trust, and the young ambassadors initiative is a key element of sportscotland’s contribution to developing young people as leaders in sport. Each year, two pupils from every secondary school are chosen as young ambassadors to promote sport and to motivate and inspire other young people to get involved in sport in their schools, clubs and local communities. Teenage girls consistently make up more than half of all young ambassadors. That is hugely encouraging.
Women and girls in Scotland are leading the way on a range of sports, from football and rugby to netball and boxing and so much more. They are punching above their weight, and long may that continue.
16:38
I thank Tess White for bringing this important issue to the chamber. I, too, welcome it being Scottish women and girls in sport week.
I understand that many people feel strongly about the topic, which is why it requires the attention of Parliament and should come to the chamber floor for debate. In my speech, I want to try as much as I can to show that I believe in a sports provision that is fair, safe and allows everyone to have an opportunity to compete and enjoy a whole variety of sports. I also want to describe my constituents’ views as far as I can.
I am contacted regularly about the issue by constituents and people outside my South Scotland region who are on both sides of the debate. Primarily, the feedback that I receive is that a great number of women feel that their voices are not being heard when it comes to sport and the inclusion of women in sport. I think that we can all agree that that is not acceptable. We have to hear those voices, and it is our responsibility in the chamber to ensure that that happens.
I do not profess to have all the answers, but I can say with certainty that there is a need for more research and for individual sports to be allowed more time to make decisions on how we discuss the matter and make progress. We cannot rush into altering the fundamentals of competition without carrying out due diligence. Millions of people take sporting competition very seriously, either actively or as spectators, and it would be remiss of the Parliament to simply dismiss women’s concerns about transgender people’s engagement in sport. We have to take time to listen and to learn.
We all surely agree that sport must be safe and as fair as possible. That is what we teach children from a very young age, and it is the spirit of, for example, the Commonwealth games, which will be coming back to Scotland in a couple of years. Transparency and a logical approach to fairness and harm avoidance are required.
As others have mentioned, the Equality Act 2010 includes an exemption that allows us to act in relation to sport. Sports leaders have also made comments that have been referenced by members. The performance director of British Cycling has said that this could be
“the single biggest issue for Olympic sport.”
In athletics, Seb Coe has said that the issue is making women’s sport “very fragile”. It is therefore very important that we make progress.
When I speak to constituents, overall, they accept that there are some cases in which someone who has transitioned could compete alongside others of their gender, but we should be clear about what that should look like. When it comes to high-impact sports and ones that feature frequent contact, there are legitimate concerns about long-term health effects and a blanket approach being taken. As we have heard, in sport, someone who has experienced puberty as a male has a significant natural advantage, so much more consideration has to be given to those cases.
Let us not forget that it took many decades to get the public to take women’s sport, including women’s athletics, seriously. We owe a debt to the women who built those foundations, so we should be serious when making decisions about what we do.
As I said, I do not pretend to have the answers, but, as parliamentarians, we must listen to the experts and be open minded when concerns are raised. We cannot have a knee-jerk reaction. It is not good enough to make political points. I hope that, by our speaking up today, some people out there will understand that parliamentarians are listening and that we can take action on the issue.
16:43
A little over three years ago, the official motto of the Olympic games was changed. The change added a single word to the original “Faster, Higher, Stronger” motto. That single word was “Together”, which reflects the unifying power of sport and the importance of solidarity. I hope to echo that Olympic principle in my remarks today, particularly as we mark Scottish women and girls in sport week, with the campaign slogan “Let’s Move Together!”
It was only 100 years ago, after the women’s suffrage movement of the 1920s, that progress was made in women’s participation in sport. We were finally included in track and field events at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, despite severe opposition and extreme sexism. The women who participated faced misogynistic fearmongering, with people stating that the women would become sterile, weak or too masculine. Lina Radke of Germany set a world record at the 1928 games for running 800m, but the media falsely reported that most of the female runners collapsed from exhaustion, even faking images to support the claim. That led to a nationwide ban on women running races over 200m. What was it that those people feared the most? Was it finding out that women were not weak and masculine but, in fact, capable and that feminine can be exceptionally strong?
The torrent of misogynistic abuse faced by female boxers Imane Khelif, who represented Algeria, and Lin Yu-ting, who represented Taiwan, is horrendous. Here are two women—minoritised ethnic women, I might add—at the pinnacle of their sport, which has a long and recent history of excluding women, with it only being as recently as 2012 that women were allowed to box competitively for the first time at the Olympics.
When the referees raised Lin’s and Khelif’s hands in their respective 57kg and 66kg finals this summer, those two women, who were born female, raised female and possessing female passports, made history by winning their countries’ first gold medals in boxing. Their deserved victories, however, were immediately tainted by those who challenged, without basis, their very womanhood. Where once women were denied participation in boxing because of their womanhood, their womanhood was being denied because they overcame all odds to excel to the top of their sport. The were too masculine, some decried, a hundred years on. Shameful.
It is on that note that I think that Tess White’s motion has fallen short, and I am disappointed that it raises again concerns about the gender eligibility of athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which I addressed with an amendment to a similar motion of hers just weeks ago. The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, said that the hate speech that was directed at boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting at the Paris Olympics was “totally unacceptable”, and I agree with him. I also agree with these words of his:
“We will not take part in a politically motivated … cultural war”.
The widespread disinformation and misinformation about the eligibility of the two women to compete in the Olympic games was harmful not only to those women who are at the peak of their sport but to the young women and girls who might see the abuse and decide against pursuing their passions or dreams, perhaps just because they do not fit whatever version of women is deemed to be acceptable to some.
Sport has the power to break barriers and challenge outdated norms, but only when we stand together in the face of adversity. We must continue to champion a future where all women are included, no matter what their background or body type. By confronting disinformation, standing against exclusion and fostering true inclusion, we will build a society where every woman and girl can pursue their dreams without fear. It is only then that, like the motto says, we will all move faster, higher and stronger together.
16:47
As the convener of the cross-party group on sport, I bring us back to the spirit of sport. I am grateful to Tess White for bringing forth the topic for further discussion, because there is no doubt that it is an important one, as is evidenced in the comments of Sharron Davies and by how much I agree with her.
The issue is also one that has been greatly exercising the minds of all the governing bodies that are represented by the Scottish Sports Association, which acts as the secretariat to the cross-party group. What a wonderful job it does of supporting our sporting bodies and, particularly when it comes to the difficult and sensitive matters, all the volunteers across Scotland, encouraging much more accessible sport, even in difficult circumstances.
Tess White’s debate coincides with this year’s women and girls in sport week. In the past, we have celebrated our national and international female champions, the volunteers who work with women and girls at the grass-roots level and all those who work so hard to make our sporting facilities more accessible to women and girls.
This year’s theme is leadership, which can mean lots of different things. Leadership can mean someone who is the captain of a team, a successful team that inspires others or someone who is taking up sport for the very first time. However, for me, it is also about the courage and determination to overcome some of the barriers that are faced by women and girls. The motion is so important because there are several serious barriers in the way of many women and girls, not least of which is their own personal safety.
I hope that I can speak to the chamber with my many years of considerable experience—perhaps too many to recall—of coaching several different sports where, for eminently sensible and practical reasons of personal safety, decisions had to be made about whether mixed teams were the better option or whether teams should be organised on a female or male basis. I note that those sensible and practical reasons about personal safety are exactly the same ones that are used by sporting bodies when addressing the current controversies. As the cross-party group convener, I support that.
Tess White’s motion and her speech have rightly identified the extent of the current controversies. I agree that it is not just a question of safety; it is one of fairness. She is right to highlight the concerns from the recent Olympics regarding gender eligibility, most especially in the very high-profile cases in boxing and athletics, although perhaps some of us take a very different perspective on that. Tess White is also right to highlight the reactions from some of the world governing bodies that have decided to take action to prevent transgender participation in female sport, pending further research, and the reaction of the UN special rapporteur, to say nothing of the reaction from female and, indeed, male athletes.
I want to finish on the motion’s last point—namely, the need for an open and transparent debate in which no one feels unable to speak up. In my very long experience in sport, we can never succeed if controversy gets in the way of what sport is supposed to be all about.
Before I call the next speaker, I advise members that, due to the number of members who wish to speak in the debate, I am minded to accept a motion without notice, under rule 8.14.3, to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite Tess White to move such a motion.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—[Tess White]
Motion agreed to.
16:51
Presiding Officer,
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects. It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind.”
Those are the powerful words of Olympic champion Imane Khelif, who faced unprecedented levels of abuse, vitriol and harassment just for being excellent at what she does.
I cannot celebrate the motion that is before us or the debate. Both this motion and Tess White’s previous one on the same subject echo the most toxic narratives, with elements of them unfounded in fact, discriminatory in effect and deeply damaging to both trans and cisgender women and girls in sport and in our communities. I strongly commend the briefing from LEAP Sports Scotland for its excellent analysis of the true position, and I thank Karen Adam for her spirited and principled amendment to Tess White’s previous motion. That amendment rightly calls out the “torrent of misogynistic abuse” faced by two Olympic boxers, who, incidentally, are both cis women and women of colour. It identifies the political motivations of the attacks on them and calls on parliamentarians and others to counter the disinformation that threatens the safety of female athletes and, I would add, of women everywhere.
That is why I am here this afternoon. There are people watching this debate and people who will hear it reported who are understandably afraid: transgender people, non-binary people, intersex people and women who do not conform to conventional Euro-centric or white assumptions of body shape, demeanour or dress—people who fear that they will be next to face exclusion, rejection, excoriation and hate. To those people—our friends and neighbours—I say, as I have done before, that, like Karen Adam, I stand here with you and for you in solidarity and commitment for as long as it takes for this poison to be washed from our politics, our media and our life.
If Tess White had ended her motion with the first clause, we could all have agreed very clearly. There are serious and multiple barriers to women’s and girls’ safe and fair participation in sport, as has been highlighted by the briefing from LEAP Sports Scotland. There are Governments, federations and broadcasting authorities that deliberately ban, suppress, downgrade or obscure women’s sport. There are coaches and managers who bully and abuse, including widespread sexual abuse. There are men who rape children and go on to represent their countries at the highest level. Tess White’s motion makes no mention of the Olympic beach volleyball player who did just that. Why is there no fuss made of a convicted rapist participating at the Olympics? I wonder.
There are playing fields sold off by state schools. There are swimming pools emptied and unused for want of essential repair. There is—as we have debated here before—a huge chasm, especially for women and girls, where safe, accessible public transport and provision for active travel ought to be.
All those obstacles are substantial and significant, and I hope that we get the opportunity to debate all of them. The participation of transgender women in sport—as in culture and the arts, voluntary work, public life or business—is no barrier to others.
It is deeply sad that narratives such as those contained in the motion are used to spread anxiety and hostility, to build barriers where none is needed, and to cause the deepest pain to those already bearing heavy burdens.
From a toddler’s first wobbly kick of the family football to an Olympic podium, sport can be, for millions of women and girls, a source of health, wellbeing, friendship, self-esteem and sheer joy. We can all share that, no matter our body type, our culture, the colour of our skin or the precise details of our biological make-up.
In this chamber and beyond, we can be proud to celebrate diversity, to recognise the labour of achievement, and to stand resolute with all who need our solidarity.
16:56
I thank my colleague Tess White for bringing the debate to the chamber. Given consistent attempts to prevent discussion or the airing of concerns on the issue, it takes real bravery and commitment to fairness in women’s sport to keep the discussion current.
I wanted to listen to the debate before framing what I wanted to say. I think that everybody knows that I have been involved in sport at all levels for 50 years or so. I genuinely and strongly believe that every person should have access to sport and physical activity. On the one hand, we are talking about one of the most vulnerable groups of people in our communities, who have endured much violence and prejudice, as Maggie Chapman said. On the other hand, we are discussing fairness and safety in women’s sport—especially those sports where strength and speed are prevalent.
The issues that we are discussing today were predicted in the gender recognition debate way back when the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was progressing through Parliament. What we are seeing in sport is an inevitable outcome of not dealing with those issues back then.
I spoke then about the huge differentiation that comes with going through puberty as a man, rather than as a woman: a difference in muscle mass of more than 30 per cent, a difference in bone density of more than 30 per cent, and a difference in heart and lung size, as well as a difference in the all-important Q angle at the hip. No matter how dedicated a female sportswoman is, or how hard they train, they cannot come near to compensating for those biological facts.
It was bad enough to watch a 51-year-old trans woman in the 200m and 400m at the Paralympics taking the place of what should have been a biological woman—a trans woman who, incidentally, had won 11 national titles as a man. However, the grotesque sight of women being bludgeoned by two XY chromosome boxers brought home the reality of what we are discussing here and what we discussed when debating the GRR bill.
An equivalent-sized man can generate 160 per cent of the force that a woman can. Back during the discussions on the GRR bill, all that I was asking for was for advice to be given to sport—and that was denied. I wonder what our future sportswomen are making of that just now. It is not just an issue in international sport; it is prevalent in grass-roots sports and all the way through. I have seen it many times in Scotland.
I had a trans woman come to my surgery to discuss this particular issue. She said to me that she had been banned from taking part in cycling. I said to her, “You haven’t been banned at all; you’ve been banned from taking part in women’s cycling.” I explained to her the reasons why, and her suggestion to me was to ask, “Why can’t I compete in a different category?” The trans community itself understands the issues here.
The wrong decisions, however well intentioned, are still the wrong decisions. We cannot create equality for one group by creating inequality for another. It is hugely important that sport is inclusive and accessible to all, irrespective of background or personal circumstances, but it is also crucial that safety and fairness are considered when we set the rules.
It was inevitable that we would debate this topic, given that, no matter how much we strive for equality, there are certain circumstances in which biology, and the XX and XY chromosomes, matter. Women’s sport is governed by biology and cannot be defined in any other way. We must have a balanced discussion and we need better solutions to ensure fairness, inclusion and—most of all—safety in women’s sport.
17:00
I commend Tess White for securing the debate and for her excellent contribution.
As we celebrate Scottish women and girls in sport week, we must also, as many speakers have done, confront the critical issues that currently affect the future of women’s sport and the safety and rights of women and girls across all areas of life.
Although inclusion is a core value of our society, we must ensure that that does not come at the expense of fairness, safety or the integrity of women and girls, including in sports. One of the most pressing concerns is the impact of policies that allow biological males to compete in the female category. That issue was brought to the fore during the recent Paris Olympics, where the participation of male athletes led to severe concerns being raised about the safety and fairness of competition in the female category.
Physical differences between male and female athletes cannot be ignored. Studies have shown that male athletes have, on average, a significant advantage, which creates a fundamentally unequal playing field in women’s sport, where biological males have the potential to outcompete female athletes.
The safety of women and girls is crucial. In contact sports such as boxing, rugby and mixed martial arts, the inclusion of biological males poses significant physical risks to female athletes. The UN’s 2024 report has been extensively quoted, but it is no bad thing to repeat the statistic that males have, on average, 162 per cent more punching power than females. If everyone watching this debate takes away only that statistic, that would not be a bad thing. Allowing male-born athletes to compete in the female categories of those types of sports not only puts women and girls at significant disadvantage in competition, but risks their personal safety.
It is crucial to repeat—as I have done many times here in the past few months—that gender self-identification is not the law in Scotland. Scottish law has not changed, despite pressure from the Government and others to adopt self-ID in various areas, including sport. Those protections must be rigorously defended if the integrity and fairness of competition in sport are to be upheld. The right for women and girls to compete in a fair and safe environment should be protected by policies that do not allow male-born athletes—with the physical advantages that they retain—to self-identify into female categories.
The on-going debate within governing bodies, such as World Athletics, FINA and World Rugby, reflects the growing recognition and acknowledgement of the impact that such policies have on women’s sport. In an acknowledgement of the risks to fairness and safety, some governing bodies have already moved to prevent transgender women from competing in female categories.
As we look ahead to the Glasgow Commonwealth games in 2026, we have a unique opportunity to inspire women and girls to participate in sport. The world will be watching us and we must ensure that the opportunities remain fair and safe for female athletes. Leaders such as Judy Murray have worked tirelessly to promote girls’ participation in sport. We can build on that legacy by protecting single-sex categories at all levels of competition, and I will be interested in hearing what the Government is doing to ensure that for 2026.
The consequences of not addressing the risk to female sport go beyond the immediate risk to the physical safety of women and girls. If their safety, dignity and aspirations cannot be assured, the very inclusion of women and girls in sport is at risk.
17:04
I thank my colleague Tess White for bringing this vitally important debate to the chamber.
Recently, there has been increasing concern over gender eligibility in elite competitions. This is not an easy debate to have, but it is one that we must have with respect and openness to all. Many people are afraid to speak out because of fears that they will be seen as discriminatory. However, this is nothing to do with discrimination; it is everything to do with fairness in sport and ensuring that female athletes are not disadvantaged by physical differences.
Studies show that male puberty provides significant advantages in areas such as speed, strength and endurance. That cannot be ignored if we are to preserve the integrity and fairness of women’s sport. It is crucial that we approach the matter with understanding for all individuals involved. Transgender athletes deserve respect, but we must find better solutions that do not compromise fairness and safety for female athletes.
It would be unfair to female athletes not to have this debate. It is not about exclusion, but about maintaining a fair playing field. As policy makers, we must ensure an open and respectful debate that is based on facts, backed up by science and focused on fairness—with a pinch of common sense.
Sportswomen should not be made to feel uncomfortable in their own sport. Many have expressed fears over sharing their opinion publicly because of concerns that they would be seen as discriminatory. It does not seem like an open discussion if female athletes are afraid to voice their concerns about justice. In addition, we must be able to have a debate in the chamber without being afraid to take interventions on the subject because it seems controversial.
Ensuring that every athlete gets the opportunity to participate in a fair, secure and safe environment is key to preserving women’s sport in the future.
17:07
As everyone will know, it is not just because I am the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport that I take an interest in sport and in women’s and girls’ participation in it. As a person, I have always passionately believed that sport and physical activity are for everyone and are very beneficial to our physical and mental health.
Scottish women and girls in sport week is an annual campaign in which we showcase the benefits of sport and physical activity for women and girls across Scotland. The week is the highlight of my sporting calendar and an opportunity to recognise and celebrate amazing women and girls across Scotland—both those who take part in sport and physical activity and those who provide opportunities for others to participate.
As many members have said, sport should provide an inclusive space in which everyone can be themselves, in which there are opportunities for everyone to take part and in which we treat each other with kindness, dignity and respect. It has often been said in the chamber that, when it comes to transgender issues, society could be much kinder, more dignified and more respectful. As elected representatives, we should lead the way in that discourse.
As is known, sports governing bodies set their own rules on transgender participation, in line with guidance provided by the five United Kingdom sports councils. The aim of the guidance is to support sports to better understand the needs and challenges that are involved in ensuring that everyone can take part. I am sure we would all agree that sports organisations know their sports best.
Gender equality is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s vision for a fairer Scotland, so we all want to see opportunities for women and girls to be physically active in whatever way works best for them. That is important, because we know that women and girls are less likely to participate in sport and are less likely to meet the recommended levels of physical activity, with resulting implications for their physical and mental health.
I have two questions, minister. First, do you believe that we should be able to discuss this openly and calmly, as women and men, without fear of recrimination or condemnation? Secondly, do you agree with the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, that we must preserve the female category?
I remind members to always speak through the chair.
Let me be absolutely clear. I think that every subject is up for clear and respectful debate in the chamber. It is really important that we are able to discuss difficult issues, on which we may disagree, respectfully. We need to be very, very careful about ensuring that we do not perpetuate misinformation around these very sensitive themes. I would plead with everyone to take care on that.
In relation to my view on Seb Coe’s views, I note that the UK sports councils’ guidance is absolutely clear that transgender inclusion, fairness and safety cannot be balanced in gender-affected sport. The International Olympic Committee is absolutely clear in its framework on fairness, inclusion and non-discrimination. It recognises that there cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution. The Equality Act 2010 also includes an explicit exemption that allows organisations that deliver sport to exclude transgender participants from participating in the sex category with which they identify
“where physical strength, stamina or physique are major factors in determining success or failure, and in which one sex is generally at a disadvantage in comparison with the other. It also makes it lawful to restrict participation of transsexual people in such competitions if this is necessary to uphold fair or safe competition, but not otherwise.”
This year’s theme is leadership, and it is vital that we have both female and male leaders and mentors in sport driving change for women and girls, whether they are friends or family members, community leaders, coaches, people in the boardroom, or sports bodies. I am absolutely sure that many members in the chamber will know such people. We want individuals and organisations to consider how they are ensuring that their communities are represented at all levels and how they are helping to drive an inclusive and collaborative culture and address the intersectionality of additional barriers to participation.
This year, we have all been able to admire the performance of Scottish women on the world’s biggest sports stages. We should acknowledge how impactful they are as role models for women and girls, helping to challenge norms and dismantle harmful misconceptions, replacing them with images of female empowerment. I warmly congratulate our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, who did just that at Paris this year. From Sammi Kinghorn, who set a new Paralympic record in the T53 100m, to Eilish McColgan, who became the first Scottish four-time track and field Olympian, Scottish athletes have done us proud and their leadership will be an inspiration for the next generation.
We know that you cannot be what you cannot see, and increasing the visibility of women in sport can create a ripple effect and empower others to participate. I know that fantastic work is going on across the sports sector to provide opportunities for women and girls, and I take this opportunity to thank all the hard-working individuals who go above and beyond.
Just yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting Street Soccer Scotland, and I got to see its street 45 programme for women in action. I met incredible female leaders and participants, and I heard about the many benefits that the programme provides. I heard really powerful stories of recovery, of women learning new skills and fulfilling untapped potential, and of women accepting themselves. For some of them, it was the first time in their lives that they had done that. They spoke about the warm welcome and the support, and they said that they did not face judgment—again, for some of them, it was the very first time in their lives that that had happened. That is the power of sport. Who would not want that for everyone?
On Monday, the First Minister launched women and girls in sport week at the University of the Highlands and Islands Perth and announced sportscotland’s new investment of £1.45 million in the active campus network. That extends the investment in the programme, which started in 2023, by a further two years, so it will now run until 2027. It will further serve the college’s diverse student community by creating a more representative and inclusive sporting system and supporting more women to participate.
I am very much looking forward to further engagements this week, and I know that my ministerial colleagues feel the same. I was delighted to learn that there will be 10 ministerial engagements during women and girls in sport week, across a range of portfolios. That is a testament to our commitment to women and girls in sport. I encourage all members of Parliament, partners and individuals across Scotland to consider how they can get involved—not just this week, but every week—in encouraging more women and girls to be active and to support the week on social media by using the hashtag #SheCanSheWill. I look forward to seeing members’ support.
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