The BBC has sparked outrage after including a transgender Colombian scientist in its annual 100 Women list for 2024.

Women’s rights campaigners lambasted the move to name transgender biologist Brigitte Baptiste on the list of ‘influential’ females, with critics branding it ‘breathtakingly insulting’.

Baptiste said in 2018 Ted Talk that a ‘trans𝑠e𝑥ual’ palm tree had been discovered and said the ‘change of 𝑠e𝑥 and gender has been reported regularly in science’.

The move to add her to the list comes days after the Beeb was blasted over its choice for women’s footballer of the year, with Zambian player Barbra Banda winning despite the sports star having been axed from a tournament for allegedly failing to meet 𝑠e𝑥 eligibility rules.

She was withdrawn from the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament two years ago pre-emptively by team bosses for allegedly having levels of testosterone which would have meant she would not have been allowed to compete. However, she has since competed in other international competitions.

This year’s 100 Women list includes a selection of females from many different fields, including well-known figures such actress Sharon Stone, Brit singer Raye, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, visual artist Tracey Emin, and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

Biologist Baptiste is among the nominees and is described in the citation as a ‘trans woman’ who ‘explores the common patterns between biodiversity and gender identity’.

The BBC says she uses a ‘queer lens to analyse landscapes and species in a bid to expand the notion of ‘nature’ to better protect ecosystems’.

But critics have hit out, with Kate Barker-Mawjee, chief executive of the LGB Alliance, posting on X: ‘This is Brigitte Baptiste, one of the BBC’s women of the year picks. Another breathtakingly insulting move from the woman-haters at the BBC.’

Another person raged: ‘This makes me so angry. There are so many talented women out there who have accomplished so much and they are ignored.’

While a third added on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform formally known as Twitter: ‘I’ve gone past angry to totally f*****g bemused. I just can’t understand this lunacy. Is there something in the water at BBC HQ?’

Baptiste, who has been dubbed a ‘powerhouse of ecology’ has previously argued that it was prudent to do away with ideas of ‘naturalness’ in nature, saying: ‘There is nothing more queer than nature’.

Speaking of its top 100 women’s list, the BBC said: ‘BBC 100 Women acknowledges the toll this year has taken on women by celebrating those who – through their resilience – are pushing for change, as the world changes around them.’

Those named on the list include scientists, activists, doctors, religious figures, political heavyweights and journalists.

Baptiste was included alongside women’s rights campaigner Zhina Modares Gorji and Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman has recently faced down in court those accused of raping her repeatedly after her husband – dubbed the ‘Monster of Avignon’ – drugged her.

Also featured is Brazilian Olympic gymnast Rebeca Andrade and Angela Rayner, Britain’s deputy prime minister.

Last year’s list also sparked controversy after Nepalese transgender activist Rukshana Kapali was named on the list following a legal fight to change gender officially from male to female.

The BBC was attacked online over the move. One woman, who advocates for ‘women’s 𝑠e𝑥 based rights’, wrote on X: ‘But you have taken a place away from another biological women. This isn’t right or fair.’

They told the BBC to ‘stop taking opportunities away from women’.

And in 2022, the BBC included Erika Hilton, the first black transgender woman to be elected to Brazil’s National Congress; and Efrat Tilma, the first trans woman to volunteer for the Israeli police.

Fiona Crack, founder of BBC 100 Women and co-controller BBC World Service languages & deputy global director, said: ‘At the BBC, we are proud to shine a spotlight on these extraordinary women, from high-profile figures to those whose remarkable contributions often go unrecognised.’

Last week Zambia and Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda was been named BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year for 2024 after triumphing in a vote involving a five-player shortlist

Banda was left out of Zambia’s squad for the Women’s African Cup of Nations two years ago with reports at the time claiming she had failed a gender test.

It later emerged she was not tested by tournament organisers but she was omitted pre-emptively when team bosses became aware her testosterone levels exceeded those permitted by the Confederation of African Football.

The former professional boxer, who was registered female at birth, according to the Associated Press, was claimed to have refused to take suppressants to lower her levels out of concerns about potential side effects.

An investigation last year by the Telegraph said there was no suggestion that Banda’s testosterone levels were ‘anything but naturally occurring’.

Her agent Anton Maksimov previously said it was not true that she had failed a gender test and that she was removed based on an ‘evaluation of her physical conditions’.

He said in a statement at the time of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations: ‘As her official representative, I can state that Barbra has not been banned or suspended from participating in the current WAFCON by CAF, FAZ, FIFA, or any other governing body.

‘She has not undergone and consequently has not failed any “gender verification” or “gender eligibility tests” administered prior to the tournament. Barbra is also perfectly healthy and fit.

‘The decision not to currently feature Barbra at the tournament is FAZ’s internal decision based on their own evaluation of her physical conditions before coming to Morocco.

‘I reiterate that nothing, no existing regulations that we are aware of, prevents Barbra’s participation in the WAFCON 2022. Barbra has not failed any medical tests in this regard either.’