The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) — the umbrella body of the 110-year-old Women’s Institute (WI) in the UK — has announced that starting April 2026 it will no longer accept transgender women as formal members. The decision comes in response to a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom earlier this year, which determined that the terms “woman” and “sex” under the Equality Act 2010 refer strictly to biological sex.
WI’s Chief Executive, Melissa Green, described the move as taken with “the utmost regret and sadness,” saying the organisation felt it had “no choice” but to align with the legal definition. She insisted that the decision does not change the WI’s “firm belief that transgender women are women.” Under the new policy, membership will be limited to individuals registered female at birth — those joining or renewing will need to confirm they meet the biological criteria.
The WI has a long history of welcoming transgender members: the inclusive policy reportedly dates back to the 1970s and was formally codified in 2015. Nonetheless, after the Supreme Court decision this year, the NFWI said that continuing its previous practice would no longer be legally feasible.
To mitigate the impact of this abrupt shift, the WI says it plans to launch a separate “national network of local WI sisterhood groups” from April 2026. These groups, the organisation claims, will remain open to everyone — including transgender women — providing a space for “socialising, learning from each other, and sharing their experiences of living as women.”
The announcement follows a similar step by Girlguiding, which revealed the previous day that it would no longer admit transgender girls or women as new members, citing legal advice in the wake of the same court ruling.
While the WI leadership said the decision was reluctantly taken to safeguard the organisation’s legal standing as a women-only group and charity, it acknowledged that many members — especially transgender ones — would likely feel anger, disappointment and betrayal. Green said the change would be painful for some, but expressed hope that the alternative sisterhood groups would help preserve bonds and support networks.
