[3] She is also a visiting professor at The Policy Institute at King's College London and an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.

[5][6] Her appointment led to criticism both from her predecessor and staff members who said EHRC had become politicised and transphobic during her tenure.

After living and working in the Middle East, Italy, France and Germany, she moved to the UK in the late 1970s.

In 2003–04, Falkner was chief executive of a charity working with young people in some of the poorest parts of Africa and Asia.

[12] Falkner and the EHRC under her leadership have come under criticism from trans and other LGBTIQ+ organisations following comments she made in May 2021 to The Times, in which she said that women had the right to question transgender identity without fear of abuse, stigmatisation or loss of employment.

[13][14] Her predecessor as EHRC chair, David Isaac, said the commission was politicised by the Conservative Party during her tenure.

[19][20] The investigation restarted in July 2023[21] but was closed in October 2023, following an independent review of the Commission's handling of complaints, initiated by the Minister for Women and Equalities, with Falkner remaining in her position as Chair.