‘In April, the Supreme Court in the UK ruled that the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act (2010) refers only to biological sex. Since the ruling, we have reviewed our long-held practice and membership policy to ensure we are compliant with the law.  

Today (Wednesday 3 December), we are announcing that from April 2026 we can no longer offer formal membership to transgender women. Please see our full statement below.

The following is also published in full on our website.‘

A statement from NFWI CEO Melissa Green: 

‘It is with the utmost regret and sadness that we must announce that from April 2026 we can no longer offer formal membership to transgender women. 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. 

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. This change is however only to our membership policy and does not change our firm belief that transgender women are women.  

We know that many of our members will find this decision extremely painful. We have been actively seeking alternative ways – outside of formal membership – of continuing to extend fellowship, sisterhood, and support to transgender women, who have been such an important part of our WI family. 

We will be launching in April 2026 a national network of local WI Sisterhood groups, which will offer monthly opportunities open to all, including transgender women, allowing them to come together to socialise, learn from each other, and share their experiences of living as women.’ 

Our activity outside of formal membership has always and will continue to play a vital role in creating welcoming spaces where all women can come together to learn, share ideas, and work together to improve lives in our communities. We remain absolutely committed to delivering on that mission.