Bobbi Pickard on coming out the other side of the devastating effects of the ‘sex’ Supreme Court ruling (EXCLUSIVE)
Bobbi Pickard. leader of the 'Business' category of Attitude 101, empowered by Bentley, has closed the London Stock Exchange, advised hundreds of global companies and helped reshape workplace inclusion – all while navigating profound personal cost
Today, a radical shift to the right dominates the political spectrum and news headlines. The UK Supreme Court ruling on 16 April 2025, that, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, ‘sex’ refers to biological sex, not sex acquired via a Gender Recognition Certificate, has had profound consequences.
When I ask Bobbi Pickard – honoured as the leader of the ‘Business’ category of Attitude 101, empowered by Bentley – about its effect on her work, she admits that perversely it probably had a positive one.
“We had to do a hell of a load of work to try and explain the impact,” says Pickard. “And I think that’s a good example of where we gave really good value to our sponsors because we did all of that, really digging into the implications and the business risks for free for our sponsors.”
But there is another side to the story.
“Last year was the first time in probably 11 years that I had strong suicidal ideation again” – Bobbi Pickard on the effects of the 2025 UK Supreme Court ruling
“Last year was the first time in probably 11 years that I had strong suicidal ideation again. And that’s something that I lived with my whole life until I medically transitioned and was able to be me. It’s not something that I got rid of, but it was something that was very much under control.”
Pickard is not the only one in her organisation to be affected.
“All three of the trans and non-binary people [working at Trans in the City] had to have time off last year because they had either physical or mental wellbeing issues brought on by the stress of what’s happening in this country, which is a hideous, hideous thing.”
“My deputy CEO was assaulted in Brighton over the summer” – Pickard on transphobic hate
The ruling, Pickard believes, has also emboldened hostility. “It’s empowered and actually almost normalised hate against trans women again,” she says. “My deputy CEO was assaulted in Brighton over the summer. Two people I know have had their cars vandalised. One of my friends had to install CCTV because her house was being targeted. So, it really has ramped up, empowered those people that hate trans and non-binary people. And it’s just normalised it now.”
Work-related stress affects most of us, but to have your very existence debated goes far beyond that. For Pickard, moving from London to Wiltshire has helped. Living near the countryside, just five minutes’ walk from open fields, offers space and quiet. She lives with her two rocks: Claire, her partner, whom she met because her daughter is trans too, and Poppy, her cavapoo. Music remains an anchor and she hopes to return to the Sparkle stage at Manchester Pride this year.
“We’ve very much seen the diversity pendulum swing back away from inclusion at the moment,” reflects Pickard. “My gut feeling is, so long as we have a stable world, that pendulum will swing back.”
Get more from Attitude
The full feature and Attitude 101 list appears in issue 369 of Attitude magazine, available to buy now in print, on the Attitude app, or through Apple News+.
