A Vote on Trans Women Joining Women's Institutes

If WI can't be a woman only space, where can we have our own spaces?

wi needs to be SINGLE SEX

As a female, I had wanted to join the WI when I reached retirement age. Sadly now they accept males pretending to be female this is no longer an option. I refuse to collude with AGP men into denying biology. The only qualifier to being a woman is to be an adult human female.

I recently moved to a new area and wanted to join the WI, but won't do so while it is a mixed sex organisation. I have no objection to trans members - I would happily welcome transmen, as they are biological females. But I am not joining an organisation that purports to be for women, while in fact pandering to men. Being a woman is not a costume; it is biological fact. It is an insult to pretend otherwise. Women have so few opportunities to meet without men. You have chosen to take this from us. It's a betrayal of everything the WI was set up to do.

The Women’’s Institute should be a safe space for biological women. It is not inclusive to include men who identify as women because it excludes women from other faiths who can not mix with men however they identify it also excludes women who have been victims of sexual or domestic abuse. If the institute wishes to include non natal females then it should change the name. Women are entitled to have safe spaces.

Sex not gender.

My mum was a longstanding WI member, she also had experienced coercive control & DV, this stealth switch of focus from being a womans group to include a subset of males would not have gone well with her. It puts me off joining which I was considering as she got so much out of it, but not when it lies in the way it pretends to be one thing but then uncritically allows a lobby group to completely change this. It'd be better served by being openly for men and women rather than this way that only welcomes males who want to impose on female spaces.

I would like to join the WI, but only if it is a single-sex organisation. Otherwise I will just join the rotary club or similar mixed-sex community organisation.

I will not be renewing however.

Please don't redefine words.

Keep men out of women's spaces

Having recently taken early retirement I was hoping to join my local WI. I attended some meetings with a friend and enjoyed it. Having worked in technology I’m fed up of transwomen (males) taking over every initiative meant for women and I’ve had enough of spending time with males. I want to spend some time in a female only space.

Women only spaces are very important to many women and the inclusion of the male-born in them makes them mixed sex. We cannot allow this sleight of hand.

The WI is destined to close if you cannot assure women that it is for natal women only, as it was set up to be. How can you possibly fight for women when men (TW) infiltrate your institution.

I will not rejoin the WI until it is single sex again.

I hope to join the WI when I retire. I respect it as a campaigning organisation for women and the companionship it provides to women. It’s so important to keep it to women only, permitting males would change the dynamics and the experience.

I was looking to join my local WI, then found out that MEN are admitted, decided not to. defeats the whole purpose in my opinion TW will never be women

Protect sex based spaces!

I am not currently a member of the WI, although I would like to be. Unfortunately, when I looked into joining recently I realised that I did not want to be a member of a mixed sex ‘Womens’ Institute, so membership is not open to me at the moment.

I have wanted to join the Women's Institute, it has always been an important part of my family, with my Mum and Grandmother being members over the years. But I do not want to be in a women's group that prioritises males and gas-lights women.