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October 2, 2025
In June 2025, we discussed a recent trend in the United States of legislation defining what it means to be “male” and “female.” See our article here.
Texas has joined the trend. Effective September 1, 2025, Texas enacted a Women’s Bill of Rights (Bill). See 2025 Texas H.B. 229. The Bill establishes new definitions and guidelines regarding biological sex under Texas law.
Specifically, the Bill states that males and females have distinct biological differences that are immutable and significant – particularly in contexts such as pregnancy, physical strength, and vulnerability to violence. The Bill stresses the importance of recognizing these immutable and significant differences in numerous settings, such as in athletics, correctional facilities, shelters, and restrooms. It also clarifies that policies distinguishing between sexes must meet scrutiny under the Constitution, which forbids unfair discrimination against similarly situated males and females, but allows the law to distinguish between the sexes where such distinctions are substantially related to important governmental objectives.
The Bill defines terms such as boy, girl, male, female, man, and woman based on biological reproductive systems.[1] It states that individuals diagnosed with intersex conditions are not considered a third sex, but they must receive appropriate accommodations.
In addition, the Bill mandates that governmental entities collecting vital statistics must categorize individuals strictly as either male or female for compliance with antidiscrimination laws and for data collection purposes.
The Bill is called the Women’s Bill of Rights because supporters see it as protecting women’s rights and spaces. Critics argue that the Bill erases transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals in Texas.
Employers in Texas and elsewhere: Continue to monitor the trend of state legislatures defining male and female. Work with legal counsel to ensure that your employment policies and practices properly reflect your anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and similar obligations, while acknowledging that federal law interprets Title VII as protecting sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. See Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2000).
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Texas, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issue.
[1] Under the Bill, “boy” means a child of the male sex. “Girl” means a child of the female sex. “Female” and “woman” mean an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova. “Male” and “man” mean an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.
