As part of the SNP's 2016 manifesto policy, the SNP pledged to voters that it would review and reform the way that trans people change their legal gender.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |date=1 April 2016 |title=Nicola Sturgeon makes gender recognition pledge |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2016-scotland-35945543 |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425095146/https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2016-scotland-35945543 |archive-date=25 April 2021}}</ref> However, the policy divided the party and it the bill was delayed during Sturgeon's second term in office because of opposition to the policy and the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Sanderson |first=Daniel |date=1 February 2021 |title=SNP civil war deepens as leading Sturgeon critic Joanna Cherry purged from Westminster team |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/02/01/snp-civil-war-deepens-leading-sturgeon-critic-purged-westminster/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210101023/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/02/01/snp-civil-war-deepens-leading-sturgeon-critic-purged-westminster/ |archive-date=10 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="bbc.com">{{Cite news |date=20 June 2019 |title=Scottish transgender reforms put on hold |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48702946 |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205230725/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48702946 |archive-date=5 February 2021}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{cite web |date=1 April 2020 |title=Transgender reforms shelved due to coronavirus pandemic |url=https://news.stv.tv/politics/transgender-reforms-shelved-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426155656/https://news.stv.tv/politics/transgender-reforms-shelved-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic |archive-date=26 April 2021 |access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref> In the 2021 SNP manifesto, Sturgeon committed the party once again to reform the [[Gender Recognition Act 2004]] of the [[UK Parliament]] and in August that year included the commitment in her agreement with the [[Scottish Greens]] on power-sharing.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Merson |first=Adele |date=30 June 2021 |title=Trans rights: How gender recognition reform became one of Scotland's most heated debates |work=[[The Press and Journal (Scotland)]] |url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/3272284/trans-rights-debate-scotland/ |url-status=live |access-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127090156/https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/3272284/trans-rights-debate-scotland/ |archive-date=27 November 2021}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Simon |date=23 August 2021 |title=Nicola Sturgeon facing backlash over proposed gender legislation |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/08/23/nicola-sturgeon-facing-backlash-proposed-gender-legislation/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 August 2021 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/08/23/nicola-sturgeon-facing-backlash-proposed-gender-legislation/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
In September 2021, Sturgeon was accused of shutting down debate about gender reforms after she described concerns about gender recognition reform as "not valid" and campaign groups and analysts complained that their concerns were being ignored.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |last=Gordon |first=Tom |date=10 September 2021 |title=Nicola Sturgeon dismisses concerns over gender reforms as 'not valid' |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19571909.nicola-sturgeon-dismisses-concerns-gender-reforms-not-valid/ |url-status=live |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911063646/https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19571909.nicola-sturgeon-dismisses-concerns-gender-reforms-not-valid/ |archive-date=11 September 2021}}</ref>
