I wonder what the WI are going to announce on Woman's Hour in the next few minutes?

[nauticant]

Apparently it will be a matter of the greatest seriousness and sorrow.

Just my opinion and in the interest of balance, but I really would not have a problem if a trans woman was a member of my local WI.

That is the key: a reasonable person would think, shame I don't fit, sounds interesting, wonder if i can support in another way. Not be: this is THE ONLY organisation i could ever join, and if I can't i will sue/commit suicide/cry a lot. It's a weird entitled reaction.

Ok, but you can't consent for others. Many women join women only groups because they want them to be women only and will self exclude if they are not.

Posters like puppymadness.understand completely. They understand the SC judgement, they know why single sex spaces exist and why women have them. They also know that no man is ever a woman.

They just don’t like it.

Tough. No is no. They’ll have to get used to that word, especially from women.

So. Why. Can't. You. set. up. a. separate. organisation. for. people. who. have. a. feminine. gender. identity.

Why. do. you. insist. on. conflating. gender identity. and. sex. in. law.?

And the lawyers' for WI, GG, the FA, Department of Education in NI ........

Sounds as though the Sisterhood groups would suit you.

Do join one and leave WI branches to those who want a women-only organisation.

I’m a trans woman and my friend invited me to join the women’s book club she attends. Should I go or should I tell my friend, who I’ve never discussed my history with, that I can’t attend because I’m really a ‘man’?

None of them have empathy do they? Ive had what I thought were great male gay friends for decades, but it is so superficial. They really dont get it.

All of the women there should know that if you attend they are no longer in a single sex space. We set these up for a reason.

Do you meet the eligibility criteria? Is it based on sex, or based on something else?

Oh I think other less nuclear options are available, such as "thanks, but no thanks, not my cup of tea".

That would have been the ET that would have ended all this bollocks without needing FWS to end up at the SC.

Employer sacks pregnant transman with a GRC and therefore not having the PC of pregnancy/maternity.

What would the TRA position have been?

That depends how many people are in the book club, if it is an association for the purposes of the equality act and who is actually excluded from the book club.

If it is a situation where your sex is relevant, you will have to reveal it. We all do.

You should go, and trust your friend's assessment of whether anyone will mind - she wouldn't have invited you otherwise. If it's fewer than 25 people there are no legal implications.

He should actually find out in advance if all the women in the club are happy for him to join.

an association is 'any group that has at least 25 members and regulates admission using rules and a selection process' so presumably if it's just a casual social group the EA doesn't apply?

And because you haven't discussed your history with her, you don't think she knows you're male? Because you haven't told her explicitly, you think she believes you're female?

No, she knows, she's just performing the "all girls together" act.

You could go with her, and see how long it takes for some of the others to stop attending.

You could go with her, and see how long it takes for some of the others to stop attending

Well that's unfair on the women in the group!
Why on earth should they have a random man foisted on them, as an experiment?
FFS.

I have just watched the video from the Chair. Honestly, why all the hand-wringing. It's maddening. The WI was founded for women. Not men. End of.

You could just tell her it's not your thing.

ETA and just because it's not been discussed doesn't mean she doesn't already know.

I'd say "could you check the other women would be comfortable to have a transwoman in the group?" Better for you to sound them out beforehand than to turn up and it be awkward all round, including for yourself if they weren't comfortable.

She already knows that, so you don't need to tell her obviously it doesn't bother her, but it may bother women in the group and it will definitely change the dynamic. Women are very unlikely to tell you if your presence makes them uncomfortable. If the question is sincere, I'd say this isn't your thing but perhaps look for a club that's not designated for women if you want to join one. They're usually mostly women anyway.

It would have made for a fascinating case.

Claimant Dave claims he was sacked because he's pregnant which goes against maternity protections

Respondent. He was sacked because he kept taking time off sick, and going to hospital appointments and just kept claiming it was allowed because he was pregnant.

However he can't have been sacked because of pregnancy because he's a man and they aren't protected.

ETA I'd have donated to the fund raiser for that case.

An issue here is your friend might not mind, but she cannot make that decision for other women.For some women the reason they may be attending is because it is a group that only women attend.

They need to have that discussion about it first before make that decision. If it is then decided that it is to remain a female only group, they can set up another group for women and transwomen so everyone knows what they are consenting to.