A local WI has voted for the formation of a Sisterhood group which will be called ‘Sutton Sisters’. This will be an open subgroup of the host WI which allows non-members to attend without becoming part of the WI. This means that transgender women will be very welcome to attend. The group will be open to all members of the community.

Initially the sisterhood group will take place on zoom on the 3rd Thursday of the month, hopefully starting in September 2026. Our aim is to move on to having ‘in person’ meetings once the group feels confident to do this.

If you would like to join the meetings, or you know anyone who would benefit from an environment where it’s safe to be trans and where trans women will be especially welcome, please tell them about this group / pass on the details. My personal number is 07740 965 638 if email doesn’t feel right, but please treat my contact details with respect.

The statement we are working to is:

By attending Sutton Sisters, you are agreeing to respect the organisational belief of the NFWI (National Federation of Women’s Institutes) that Transgender women are women.

Whilst we acknowledge and respect all views, this group has been created specifically for those who share the NFWI’s organisational belief and wish to work together to reflect this. NFWI have designed groups like this as an optional activity for those who are interested in creating that space.

We welcome anyone to attend this group, which is open to all. However, anyone behaving disrespectfully or undermining our work to create a safe and supportive space for transgender women may be removed from the meeting, at the discretion of the group Facilitator.

Anyone who is interested can contact us at: SuttonSisters2026@gmail.com

The zoom details for the meetings will be provided by email, the day of, or the day before the meeting to all those who have expressed an interest in attending.

For further information about the policies in which this group is grounded, please consult:

NFWI Code of Conduct:

https://via.thewi.org.uk/storage/81/NFWI-Code-of-Conduct.pdf

NFWI EDI policy:

https://www.thewi.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/719730/NFWI-Equality-Diversity-and-Inclusion-Policy-April-2026.pdf