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October 16, 2025
A trend exists in the United States of legislation defining what it means to be “male” and “female.” See our article here from June 2025, addressing laws in Iowa, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and see our article here from earlier this month, addressing similar legislation in Texas.
Ohio has joined the trend. Effective September 30, 2025, Ohio revised its statutes to include a “sex recognition policy.” See Ohio Rev. Code § 9.05.
The policy recognizes only two sexes, male and female. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” Ohio Rev. Code § 9.05(B). The policy defines “female” as a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell, and it defines “male” as an individual belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell. Ohio Rev. Code § 9.05(A)(2) and (5). “Sex” is defined as the biological indication of male and female, including sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, without regard to an individual’s psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender. Ohio Rev. Code § 9.05(A)(7). The policy goes on to define “gender identity” as an individual’s internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex. Ohio Rev. Code § 9.05(A)(3).
Employers in Ohio and elsewhere: Continue to monitor the trend of state legislatures defining male and female, as well as the legal landscape of ongoing court battles challenging gender-related laws. 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 Ohio, Pennsylvania, 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 issues.
