Some leading groups for women and girls in the UK have announced that they will no longer be accepting trans members as a consequence of the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of “woman”.

In April 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of ‘woman’ under the Equality Act 2010 does not include trans women who hold gender recognition certificates (GRCs). The decision caused widespread outrage both in the UK and abroad, with activists condemning the court’s decision and highlighting its real-life repercussions on trans women.

The ruling has excluded trans people from the legal protection of sex-based discrimination, a shift with profound consequences for daily life. In more recent developments, the Women’s Institute and Girlguiding both announced that they would no longer accept trans members, although both groups appear to have been forced to take this decision.

Releasing a statement, The Women’s Institute CEO Melissa Green, said: “Incredibly sadly, we will have to restrict our membership on the basis of biological sex from April next year… But the message we really want to get across is that it remains our firm belief that transgender women are women.”

The Institute explained that they had sought legal advice on the interpretation of the ruling, and said that the judgement meant they could “no longer legally 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,” Green added.

Similarly, a joint statement from the Girlguiding heads read: “It is with a heavy heart that we are announcing trans girls and young women will no longer be able to join Girlguiding.

“This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community,” it read, noting adult helper roles were “still open to all.”

According to a report from The Times, before making this change, Girlguiding received a letter from a member’s mother who threatened to sue the organisation. The decision taken by Girlguiding also prompted broadcaster Ashley James to step down as an ambassador for the organisation.

Responding to the announcements, Trans+ Solidarity Alliance founder, Jude Guaitamacchi, pointed at the government’s failure to provide clarity over the interpretation of the ruling. “Imagine being a group that has welcomed trans members for generations being told who you can and cannot associate with, regardless of the wishes of the group itself,” they said. “It’s cruel and a failure of this government to protect human rights, including freedom of association.”

Speaking to HuffPost UK, TransActual Chair Helen Belcher said that these groups have been “pushed to force out trans people, against the organisation’s will and at great cost”.

“If these changes must be forced on organisations, then it’s clear this is the result of a handful of extremists imposing their views on groups which have been very happily trans inclusive for many years, if not decades,” Belcher added.

“This government has allowed the Equality and Human Rights Commission to impose the most extreme interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling on the country and upend equality law to exclude trans people from civil society without any democratic input from MPs.”