Fiona McAnena Author

Fiona McAnena grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, graduated from Cambridge University, and worked in brand management and marketing strategy in multinational businesses for thirty years. In 2018 she became concerned at how trans demands were eroding women’s rights and got involved in the resistance. She spent five years as a volunteer with Fair Play For Women, working across its campaigns on prisons, sport, language and data. As director of its successful work in sport, she’s met with dozens of sports bodies to influence their policies, and she is perhaps the most authoritative voice in the UK on that issue. At Fair Play For Women, she took the UK government to court over its guidance to the sex question in the national census, and pushed the media and regulators towards more honest, accurate reporting of issues relating to sex and gender. She has written and spoken extensively on these topics, including in three national parliaments and at conferences internationally. Her account of the legal challenge brought by Fair Play For Women against the Scottish government, Women Still Don’t Count, is in the book The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht. She joined human-rights charity Sex Matters in early 2024 as director of campaigns. She is married with two adult children, and still a keen rower and runner.