Women's Institute will 'continue to celebrate' transgender women amid inclusivity row
Source: The Guardian
Women’s Institute will ‘continue to celebrate’ transgender women amid inclusivity row
Exclusive: Melissa Green, CEO of the organisation, says it won’t be part of ‘toxic’ debate on trans membership
Alexandra Topping
Tue 18 Apr 2023 20.52 BST
Last modified on Tue 18 Apr 2023 21.25 BST
The Women’s Institute will continue to “celebrate” the lives of the transgender women enriching its membership, the head of the organisation said on Tuesday, following reports that it was facing a bid to overturn inclusive policy.
Melissa Green, CEO of the the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI), said the organisation did not want to enter into a “toxic and divisive” row that sought to sow discord among women, but instead foster sensible discourse and reflect the lives of all its members – including those that are transgender.
“Being part of the WI is about the experience of being a woman, and that is a combination of both biology and lived experience,” she said in an interview with the Guardian. “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.”
Green downplayed reports that the WI is facing a revolt from an internal group which is pushing for it to overturn a policy – in place since the 70s and made official in 2015 – which allows transgender members to join the organisation, saying the majority of members were supportive of its stance.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/18/womens-institute-to-continue-to-celebrate-transgender-women-amid-inclusivity-row
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