The Women’s Institute to restrict membership to women

The Women’s Institute has announced it will ban men who identify as women from membership from April 2026.

The National Federation of Women’s Institutes’ (NFWI) Chief Executive Melissa Green made the announcement “with regret and sadness”, explaining that it was necessary to legally comply with the Supreme Court ruling that ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refers to biological sex.

Baroness Falkner of Margravine, who chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has previously urged organisations to update their guidance or risk legal action.

Women’s organisation

Green stated: “As an organisation that has proudly welcomed transgender women into our membership for more than 40 years, this is not something we would do unless we felt that we had no other choice.”

She explained: “To be able to continue operating as the Women’s Institute, a legally recognised women’s organisation and charity, we must act in accordance with the Supreme Court’s judgment and restrict formal membership to biological women only.

“However, this change is only in respect to our membership policy and does not change our firm belief that transgender women are women.”

Sisterhood

The NFWI Chief Executive added that, despite this new ban, the WI will “bring forward programmes to continue to extend fellowship, sisterhood, and support to transgender women”.

She announced plans for a “national network” of WI sisterhood groups to “offer monthly opportunities for all people, including transgender women”.

The Women’s Institute Declaration, a group of WI members campaigning to protect women’s rights, posted on social media: “We are overjoyed that the @WomensInstitute is stopping membership to men.

“However, we are well aware that there are serious problems in the statement, and grave concerns regarding the Misterhood groups.”

‘Uncomfortable’

Writing for The Critic, women’s rights campaigner Josephine Bartosch noted that under Green’s leadership, the WI released a controversial issue of its magazine with a man who identified and dressed as a woman on the cover with the title “I was welcomed to the sisterhood”.

She commented: “Of course he was — anyone inclined to object had already been taught to keep schtum or risk accusations of bigotry.”

Bartosch spoke to former WI member Sarah who told her how “uncomfortable” she felt when she went to a meeting attended by a man “wearing a dress and lipstick”.

Sarah said: “It felt embarrassing to admit how uncomfortable he made me feel”, adding: “I knew everyone was meant to believe ‘trans women are women’”.

Bartosch concluded that Green, “must accept the simple truth: let men in and you push women out”.

Single-sex groups

Helen Joyce, Director of women’s rights group Sex Matters, said: “A group set up for women must be able to keep out all men, even the ones who are very insistent that they feel like women.

“If women – or men – want to join mixed-sex groups, there are plenty available. There are also plenty of charities that solely serve trans-identifying people.”

She noted: “What is distinctive about single sex groups is obviously lost if people of the opposite sex are admitted.”

Girlguiding

The statement from the NFWI comes the day after Girlguiding announced that new membership will be restricted to girls and young women.

This follows the launch of legal action by a concerned parent last month against Girlguiding over its transgender policy.

In a letter seen by The Times, the mother of a seven-year-old girl said it “creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”.

“This includes, but is not limited to: sharing toilets, showers or changing facilities with boys, contact sports with boys and sharing accommodation with boys, all without their prior knowledge or consent.”