Girlguiding and Women's Institute: A Shift to Female Membership

The Women’s Institute and Girl Guides return to common sense

For over a century, Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute have embodied organised female community life in Britain. They have offered girls and women a rare combination of friendship, formation and public voice. It is therefore no small thing that, within the space of forty-eight hours at the start of December 2025, both organisations announced that future membership would be restricted to those female at birth, bringing their policies into line with a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the legal meaning of “sex” and “woman”¹².

These decisions have been presented as reluctant acts of legal compliance. Yet they also crystallise a deeper national reckoning over sex-based rights, the limits of inclusion, and the future of women-only associations in law and in culture.

The Supreme Court judgment: redefining “sex” in law
In April 2025, the UK Supreme Court handed down its decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16. The court held that, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, the protected characteristic of “sex” refers to biological sex: a “man” is a biological male and a “woman” a biological female¹. Legal sex for Equality Act purposes is therefore the sex recorded at birth, not gender identity and not acquired sex under a Gender Recognition Certificate¹³.

Parliament’s own research briefing summarised the ruling in equally clear terms: references to “sex”, “man” and “woman” in the Equality Act “refer to biological sex (a person’s sex at birth)”². The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which regulates compliance with the Act, has updated its guidance accordingly³. Professional and legal bodies have likewise advised employers, associations and service providers that policies based on any other definition risk being unlawful⁴⁵.

This has immediate consequences for “associations” in Equality Act terms – clubs, charities and membership bodies with 25 or more members. If an association is registered in law as women-only, its membership criteria must now be framed in terms of biological sex. To admit male-born members would be to cease being a women-only association in the eyes of the law²¹⁴.

It is against this backdrop that Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute have moved, more or less in unison, to re-draw their membership boundaries.

Girlguiding: from trans-inclusive policy to sex-based membership
In 2017, Girlguiding formally adopted a trans-inclusive policy which allowed transgender girls to join as members and transgender women to serve as volunteers, treating self-identified gender as determinative for single-sex inclusion⁸. The organisation publicly maintained that “being transgender does not make someone any more of a safeguarding risk than any other person”⁴.

The 2017 shift, however, soon became contested. Former volunteers raised safeguarding and privacy concerns, and in 2024–25 a mother began legal proceedings against Girlguiding, arguing that the trans-inclusive policy discriminated against her daughter and compromised dignity in shared toilets, showers and sleeping accommodation⁹. Her case relied explicitly on the Supreme Court’s clarification that “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex, not gender identity⁹¹.

On 2 December 2025, Girlguiding announced that its equality and diversity policy had been changed. “From today,” the official update states, “trans girls and young women will no longer be able to join Girlguiding.” There would be “no immediate changes for current young members,” with further information promised⁶. A parallel statement from the Chief Guide, CEO and Chair of Trustees described the decision as “challenging” and “difficult,” taken after careful legal consideration⁷.

Press reports noted that the decision explicitly aligns the meanings of “girl” and “woman” with the Equality Act’s biological definition, and that the change applies prospectively – existing trans-identified volunteers are not automatically removed²²³⁸. Girlguiding has also announced a taskforce to support “marginalised groups” under the new legal framework²³.

The Women’s Institute: from “anyone living as a woman” to female-at-birth membership
For decades, the Women’s Institute has admitted trans-identified males. In 2015 it formally adopted a policy stating that “anyone living as a woman is welcome to join the WI”¹⁰¹¹. Some members welcomed this as a gesture of inclusivity, while others argued that admitting males undermined the WI’s founding purpose¹¹⁷.

The Supreme Court ruling forced a reassessment. As a legally registered women-only charity, the WI must now define “woman” biologically if it wishes to remain compliant with the Equality Act¹². On 3 December 2025, the WI announced that, from April 2026, it “can no longer legally offer formal membership to transgender women.” The National Federation’s Chief Executive described the change as taken “with the utmost regret and sadness”¹²¹³.

At the same time, the WI will create parallel “sisterhood groups” open to trans-identified individuals, a dual structure aimed at balancing legal compliance with continued pastoral hospitality¹².

Law, identity and women-only associations
Reactions to these decisions vary widely. Advocates of sex-based rights see them as overdue corrections; trans advocacy groups understandably experience them as exclusionary¹⁴.

Legally, the logic is simple. The Supreme Court has clarified that “sex”, “woman” and “man” in the Equality Act refer to biological categories¹. In response, institutions from the EHRC to political parties have begun revising policies³¹⁴.

Girlguiding and the WI faced a binary choice: maintain trans-inclusive membership and cease to be women-only bodies in law, or restore sex-based membership and offer alternative participation mechanisms. Both have chosen the latter, implicitly acknowledging that a women-only association must be based on female sex at birth.

Safeguarding, symbolism and the culture war
These decisions also reflect concerns about safeguarding, especially in Girlguiding’s case, where litigation centred on girls’ dignity and privacy in intimate spaces⁹²².

For the WI, the issue has been more symbolic. The organisation’s public language about “trans women being women” now sits uneasily beside a membership policy that must exclude them¹²³. The creation of parallel groups underscores this tension.

While messaging may remain ideologically mixed, the legal boundary is now fixed: women-only membership means female-only membership.

Unanswered questions and the road ahead
Practical uncertainties remain. Girlguiding’s position on existing trans-identified volunteers may create uneven local implementation⁶⁷⁸. Local autonomy within WI branches may produce a patchwork of practice. Other women’s and youth organisations will now face pressure to review trans-inclusive policies for legal compliance²⁷²⁰.

Culturally, the deeper conflict remains unresolved. The Supreme Court has not settled debates over gender identity; it has only clarified statutory language. Different visions of womanhood will continue to contend in public life. Yet the decisions by Girlguiding and the WI suggest that where law requires clarity, biological sex is reasserting primacy.

Conclusion
Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute are pillars of British civic life. Their return to sex-based membership marks a significant turning point in how single-sex organisations navigate questions of law, identity and inclusion. Whatever one’s stance, the reality is clear: the Supreme Court’s definition of “woman” is reshaping institutional practice. The task now is to reconcile sex-based rights with the humane treatment of all who fall outside the new membership lines.

For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.
House of Commons Library, Supreme Court judgment on the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010, Research Briefing CBP-10259 (2025).
Equality and Human Rights Commission, updated 2025 guidance following the Supreme Court ruling.
Local Government Lawyer, analysis of the judgment (April 2025).
CIPD advisory note on employer compliance with the ruling.
Girlguiding, official update to the equality and diversity policy (2 December 2025).
Girlguiding, statement to trans, non-binary and gender-diverse members (2 December 2025).
Girlguiding 2017 trans-inclusion policy.
Press reports on the legal action brought by a Girlguiding parent (2024–25).
Women’s Institute Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy (2015).
Reports of member debate and criticism of WI trans-inclusion (2023).
WI national announcement on changes to membership (3 December 2025).
Statement by the WI Chief Executive following the ruling.
Reports of criticism from trans-advocacy groups in response to both decisions.
Sex-based organisations’ guidance materials analysing the implications of the ruling.
Legal commentary on the obligations of women-only associations under the Equality Act.
Coverage of safeguarding concerns raised in the Girlguiding parent’s legal case.
Girlguiding statements on taskforce and transitional support measures.

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