A transgender campaign group has said new rules compelling Northern Ireland’s civil servants to use whichever terms transgender people wish is an “important first step”. Meanwhile, the Equality Commission told the News Letter that the move appears to be in sync with equality laws. They were both responding to news from the News Letter that a new rule was inserted into civil servants’ handbooks in 2019, while there was no minister in place, setting out how workplaces must respond to people who describe themselves as transgender. This does not just mean people who medically transition; it also takes in cross-dressing people, those who do not want surgery or hormones, or people who say their gender is a fluctuating spectrum.