California law provides the following definitions:
- “Gender identity” is each person’s internal understanding of their gender, which may include male, female, a combination of male and female, neither male nor female, a gender different from the person’s sex assigned at birth, or transgender.
- “Gender expression” is a person’s gender-related appearance or behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s sex at birth. This manifestation can include how a person dresses, acts, speaks or interacts with others.
- “Transgender” is a general term that refers to a person whose gender identity differs from the person’s sex at birth. A transgender person may or may not have a gender expression that is different from the social expectations of the sex assigned at birth.
- "Transitioning" is defined under the regulations as the process some transgender people go through to begin living as the gender with which they identify, rather than the sex assigned to them at birth. Some activities that may occur during the transition period include alterations in name or pronoun usage, facilities use, engagement in office-related activities, or beginning hormone therapy, surgery and other related medical procedures. Employers may not discriminate against a person who has transitioned, is in the process of transitioning or is believed to be transitioning.