The Society for Women in Philosophy, United Kingdom
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Welcome to our website! SWIP UK is an organisation of UK women in philosophy, including students and professionals, working within or outside academic departments, which aims to end discrimination against women in philosophy. SWIP has sister-groups worldwide, with hundreds of members and friends within the UK branch. |
Good Practice Scheme.
SWIP UK and the British Philosophical Association are pleased to support the Good Practice Scheme. Its purpose is to improve the environment for, and representation of, women in philosophy.
SWIP UK panel at Joint Session.
Each year SWIP UK hold a panel (and sometimes an information desk) at the host University of the Joint Session of the Aristotelian Society and the Mind Association. Please consider submitting your papers to us!
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Aims and Membership.
SWIP UK have revised the aims and membership criteria to be more inclusive and intersectional. See the 'Who We Are' page for details.
Data Protection Regulation.
By subscribing to SWIP UK, individuals consent to us holding their contact details and we will inform them if these are lost or stolen. Individuals can ask for these details to be erased and we will erase them when their Membership/Friendship elapses or if they have not responded to renewal invitation emails.
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NEWS.
2026:
SWIP UK at the Joint Session:
This year the Joint Session took place at the University of Reading, from 8-10th July 2026, with papers on the SWIP UK panel from Veerle van Wijngaarden (Amsterdam) on 'Disavowing Objecthood: Toward a Sexual Ethics of Ambiguity', Ellie Robson and Peter West (Warwick and Northeastern University London) on 'Getting Knight Right: Macdonald’s critique and of the use of ‘good’ in aesthetics', Katerina Jennings (Oxford) on 'The Three Types of Fairness in Sport and Their Bearing on Transgender Inclusion', and Anna Klieber (Cardiff) on 'Silence under conditions of oppression'. Many thanks to Lucienne Spencer for chairing and to Victoria Wang, Alya Khan, and Komarine Romdenh-Romluc for organising!
SWIP UK AGM:
We will be holding our AGM online in mid September - a link and an agenda will be circulated to members in advance. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss joining the committee!
2026:
SWIP UK at the Joint Session:
This year the Joint Session took place at the University of Reading, from 8-10th July 2026, with papers on the SWIP UK panel from Veerle van Wijngaarden (Amsterdam) on 'Disavowing Objecthood: Toward a Sexual Ethics of Ambiguity', Ellie Robson and Peter West (Warwick and Northeastern University London) on 'Getting Knight Right: Macdonald’s critique and of the use of ‘good’ in aesthetics', Katerina Jennings (Oxford) on 'The Three Types of Fairness in Sport and Their Bearing on Transgender Inclusion', and Anna Klieber (Cardiff) on 'Silence under conditions of oppression'. Many thanks to Lucienne Spencer for chairing and to Victoria Wang, Alya Khan, and Komarine Romdenh-Romluc for organising!
SWIP UK AGM:
We will be holding our AGM online in mid September - a link and an agenda will be circulated to members in advance. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss joining the committee!
Statement of solidarity and support...
...in response to the UK Supreme Court ruling and EHRC Code of Practice:
The Society for Women In Philosophy UK (SWIP UK) condemns the UK Supreme Court ruling on 16 April 2025 determining that the term ‘woman’ in the Equality Act 2010 refers to a binary and biological notion of ‘sex’, and the subsequent Code of Practice published by the EHRC on 21 May 2026. This ruling and the Code undermine the human rights and safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people and are also detrimental to cis women. Trans women are women, and belong in feminist organisations. There is no fight against sexism and misogyny separate from the fight against cissexism and transmisogyny.
SWIP UK membership, in line with our recognitions and aims, has for many years been open to trans women and to other trans and/or non-binary people who feel the category of ‘woman’ is relevant to their experiences, and this will not change under any circumstances. The legal landscape is currently very unclear and rapidly changing. In June 2025, we responded to the EHRC consultation outlining our views as a trans-inclusive women's organisation, in September 2025, we joined other organisations in an open letter calling for Parliamentary scrutiny being needed on any updated Code of Practice, and in June 2026 we encouraged the rejection of the updated Code. We are in the process of finding out what concrete steps, if any, we need to take to ensure the continuation of our current approach to membership. We will involve members in this in accordance with our bylaws.
Finally, we want to recognise what a difficult time this is, especially for those directly targeted, and we send a message of solidarity and support to everyone affected. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via our websites contact form below.
-The SWIP UK Executive Committee.
...in response to the UK Supreme Court ruling and EHRC Code of Practice:
The Society for Women In Philosophy UK (SWIP UK) condemns the UK Supreme Court ruling on 16 April 2025 determining that the term ‘woman’ in the Equality Act 2010 refers to a binary and biological notion of ‘sex’, and the subsequent Code of Practice published by the EHRC on 21 May 2026. This ruling and the Code undermine the human rights and safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people and are also detrimental to cis women. Trans women are women, and belong in feminist organisations. There is no fight against sexism and misogyny separate from the fight against cissexism and transmisogyny.
SWIP UK membership, in line with our recognitions and aims, has for many years been open to trans women and to other trans and/or non-binary people who feel the category of ‘woman’ is relevant to their experiences, and this will not change under any circumstances. The legal landscape is currently very unclear and rapidly changing. In June 2025, we responded to the EHRC consultation outlining our views as a trans-inclusive women's organisation, in September 2025, we joined other organisations in an open letter calling for Parliamentary scrutiny being needed on any updated Code of Practice, and in June 2026 we encouraged the rejection of the updated Code. We are in the process of finding out what concrete steps, if any, we need to take to ensure the continuation of our current approach to membership. We will involve members in this in accordance with our bylaws.
Finally, we want to recognise what a difficult time this is, especially for those directly targeted, and we send a message of solidarity and support to everyone affected. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via our websites contact form below.
-The SWIP UK Executive Committee.