Women’s Institute will not change its policy of welcoming anyone ‘who is living as a woman’ despite criticism from members
- Women’s Institute has faced calls to stop admitting transgender women
- The Women’s Institute Declaration called for WI to focus on biological women
The Women’s Institute will not change its policy of welcoming ‘anyone who is living as a woman’ despite facing a revolt over letting transgender members join.
Trustees of the organisation have been blasted for forcing equality rules upon local branches following advice from campaign groups, meaning that anyone who says they are ‘living as a woman’ can participate in the same way as any other woman.
The largest voluntary women’s membership organisation in the UK – known as the WI – has faced calls to stop admitting transgender women from a group within its ranks.
The WI – formed in 1915 – declared in 2015 that it welcomed transgender women and, in 2021, featured trans woman Petra Wenham, who transitioned at age 68, on the cover of its magazine.
Its published policy states: ‘Anyone who is living as a woman is welcome to join the WI and to participate in any WI activities in the same way as any other woman.’
Petra Wenham (pictured right) from Elmsett, Ipswch. Petra is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of the Woman’s Institute magazine. Her wife is Loraine (pictured left)
But the Women’s Institute Declaration group has claimed the National Federation of Women’s Institutes’ (NFWI) current equality, diversity and inclusion policy is damaging the organisation’s reputation and ability to campaign on women’s issues.
The NFWI has been warned it risks not fulfilling its purpose as a charity to ‘advance the education of women and girls’ if it cannot properly define what a woman is.
READ MORE: Ex-Tory leader William Hague in trans blast at the Women’s Institute: Peer wades into WI revolt over decision to admit transgender members saying they need to ‘get over it and welcome new people’
The declaration group said it supports the rights of trans people ‘to live safely and to be treated fairly’, but called for the WI to ‘focus on women as a biological sex class, rather than as an individual expression of gender, which may not correspond with natal sex’ and to actively campaign for single sex spaces.
But NFWI chief executive Melissa Green told the Guardian the organisation had ‘received no communication’ suggesting a change in policy is what members want.
She said: ‘Being part of the WI is about the experience of being a woman, and that is a combination of both biology and lived experience.
‘For us, transgender women are women and we want to share and celebrate their experience with them. I know from speaking to so many of our members that they feel that we are enriched by that, that we learn something about being a woman through the eyes of transgender women.’
The Guardian reported Ms Green as having said the WI received just two direct emails about the issue on Tuesday.
Ms Green added: ‘We’re not an organisation that sort of stuck in one place – we’re constantly evolving and reviewing opposition and making sure we’re relevant to women in the 21st century.
‘So there are no plans to review this policy – which is not new – because we’ve received no communication suggesting that that’s what our members want.’
Loraine (pictured right) is pictured with Petra Wenham on their wedding day in 1973. Petra transitioned aged 68 and became the first trans person to feature on the WI’s magazine cover
The NFWI position has been publicly supported by former Conservative leader Lord William Hague
She said the WI has a ‘very strong democratic process’ and ‘don’t let ourselves get caught up in this kind of external panic around things because our members already have a route to share their views and their thoughts with us’.
The NFWI position has been publicly supported by former Conservative leader Lord William Hague, who said organisations such as the WI must accept that people changing gender is ‘part of our society now’ and that new people should be welcomed as members.
He told Times Radio: ‘I think on this issue, there are some areas where there’s been a danger of going too fast – competitive sport is one of them. And world athletics has made clear that women’s sport can’t be transgender, otherwise it would be the end of women’s sport. And I think that is quite right.
‘I’m not sure that applies to the Women’s Institute though, you know there are transgender people, they have changed their gender. This is part of our society now, and I think large national organisations like the WI have to get over that and get used to that, and welcome new people.
‘So that would be the side of the argument I’m on. I’ll probably get a lot of angry letters now from WI members but I would be on that side of the argument.’
Asked about the issue, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said it is up to specific groups ‘to decide what’s right for them’, but stressed that the starting point must be treating transgender people with compassion.
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