There are currently two sets of rules covering the eligibility criteria for participation in the Female Category in elite athletics events, the DSD Regulations1 and the TG Regulations2. They were both approved by the World Athletics Council (the "Council") in March 2023.
At the same time, the Council set up a Working Group on Gender Diverse Athletes, and the Working Group has recommended a consultation process on: (i) eligibility conditions for the Female Category; and (ii) the current DSD Regulations and TG Regulations. It runs from 10 February - 5 March 2025.
Remit of the Working Group
The Working Group was specifically tasked with: advising the Council on how Transgender and DSD athletes can compete in athletics, including at elite level; how the current regulations impact transgender and other gender diverse athletes, and how various hormone treatments affect athletic performance. Since 2023, the Working Group has learned that:
- Testosterone suppression can only partly mitigate the overall male advantage
- An exclusive focus on male puberty is wrong because (i) the performance gap already exists before onset of puberty; and (ii) the athletic disadvantage associated with the female body contributes to the performance gap
- There is no new countervailing evidence to suggest that transgender women and androgen sensitive XY DSD athletes are biologically different to each other in relation to the design and goals of the Female Category
The Working Group also learned that there is opposition to testosterone suppression as a condition for eligibility in the Female Category on the basis that: (i) some medical ethicists and athletes are concerned about the medical risk-benefit calculus to athletes with XY DSD who do not experience gender dysphoria (i.e. who do not need to undergo suppression in order to express their gender identity); and (ii) some human rights experts are concerned about the cost-benefit calculus of undergoing testosterone suppression, both medically and competitively for XY DSD athletes.
Finally, concern was expressed about the human rights of female athletes. The Special Rapporteur’s report to the UN General Assembly in October 2024 was unambiguously against testosterone suppression requirements, and expressly supportive of an exclusive Female category to protect female athletes’ rights to one-for-one equality and a level playing field. To address the rights of female athletes, the report recommends a “dignified, swift, non-invasive and accurate sex screening method (such as a cheek swab) or, where necessary for exceptional reasons, genetic testing”.
Recommendations of the Working Group
The Working Group published five recommendations:
- Formally affirm the design of and goals for the Female Category.
- Revise the eligibility regulations so that they are consistent with the design and goals.
- Merge the DSD and Transgender Regulations and, if the effect is to restrict opportunities for DSD athletes, adopt measures to address the reliance interests of those who are currently in the pipeline
- Adopt a pre-clearance requirement for all athletes competing in the Female Category
- Consider forward initiatives, including to support elite gender diverse XY Athletes
We will examine recommendations three and four, which if implemented, will interact with each other.
Merge the DSD and TG Regulations
The current TG Regulations exclude from participation in the Female Category transgender women who have experienced male puberty, while the DSD Regulations permit the participation of XY DSD athletes who have experienced male puberty.
Merging the regulations would mean that all androgen-sensitive XY athletes (i.e. those with male chromosomes) would be treated the same in terms of eligibility, meaning that XY DSD athletes would now be excluded from competing in the Female Category. In plain terms, it would prevent athletes like Caster Semenya from competing in the Female Category.
The recommendation also includes the adoption of measures to address any reasonable reliance interests DSD athletes may have as a result of new restrictions. The consultation process and specific questions detailed below will aim to address the reasonable reliance question.
The pre-clearance recommendation would, if implemented, play an important role in monitoring compliance with the DSD on TG Regulations.
Any new DSD and TG Regulations will be implemented with the following standing commitments:
- World Athletics does not judge or question gender identity
- World Athletics respects and preserves the dignity and privacy of individuals
- World Athletics strictly observes confidentiality obligations and complies with data protection laws
- World Athletics never has and never would impose any obligation to undergo surgery
Pre-clearance Requirement
If implemented, World Athletics would need to possess a test result that establishes the eligibility of each athlete in advance of any athlete competing in the Female Category at elite level[3]. Such athletes would be required to provide evidence of eligibility to World Athletics at least once in their career.
The recommendation is to implement a test for the SRY gene and, if required, testosterone levels, either via cheek swab with any necessary follow-up or via dry blood spot analysis. The SRY gene, which is almost always on the Y chromosome, is used as a highly accurate proxy for biological sex but makes room for an additional diagnostic process at the athlete’s discretion.
This test is a very serious measure which will require the balancing of competing rights, and most importantly, the privacy and dignity of those subject to the test. Safeguarding and accountability will play a big role in ensuring the data gathered in the tests is not abused or used to target a specific athlete unfairly. On the other hand, rolling out a test like this such that everybody is required to do it, reduces the risk of profiling and / or unfair targeting of certain athletes based on their performance and body shape.
As a high-level recommendation, significant operational and procedural rules would be required to implement this fairly. Questions that would need to be answered include:
- Who sets the testing standards?
- Who is responsible for arranging the test, World Athletics or the athlete?
- Procedure for an already-competing athlete who does not pass the test?
- How are previous results treated in respect of prospective non-eligible athletes?
- What are the rules in relation to athletes who refuse to undergo the test?
- If World Athletics fails to test someone competing at elite level, who later fails the test, what is the impact on results, prize money, world rankings and qualification? Will the effects be prospective only?
- Data protection considerations
What next?
The recommendations were approved by the Council and have been passed on for stakeholder consultation. A list of eight questions are set out in the consultation document, which request feedback on how the new conditions might: positively/negatively impact athletes; ways to minimise adverse impacts and approach to address reasonable reliance; preference as between cheek swab and a dry blood test as it relates to further hormonal testing; the public's sense of why the male and female categories exist; public education proposals; and whether other athlete populations should be considered.
This extensive stakeholder consultation goes beyond what most other international sports federations have done when it comes to the participation of transgender women in the Female Category, most opted for an outright ban with little consideration for how that impacts their dignity, their right to participate in sport, the important role sport has always played in progressing social causes, sport as an equaliser on divisive social issues, and the reasonable reliance interests of athletes who had been permitted to participate up until that point. It appears that World Athletics in this case are attempting to balance the challenge and importance of inclusion against the principles of fairness and female athletes’ rights to one-for-one equality.
[1] The Eligibility Regulations for the Female Category (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development.
[2] The Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes.
[3] Elite level means global competition, for example the World Championships, Olympic Games, Area Championships, and Diamond League events, and qualifying events for those competitions.
