Cambridge University’s controversial society for women ‘reluctantly’ approved by SU

Cambridge University’s Students’ Union (SU) has approved the new Society of Women, claiming it was legally obliged to do so despite believing the group “contradicts” its ethos.

Founded by three Cambridge students last October, the society sets to offer a “single-sex environment for women”, a classification it defines as “adult human beings belonging to the female sex class”.

The Cambridge University Society of Women (CUSW), which prides itself on “encouraging women to speak freely since 2025”, was formed in protest against university culture which it claims to be “obsessed with gender ideology”.

At the offset of the society, its three founders published a launch statement on their Instagram, reading: “CUSW will proudly be a single-sex, women-only environment with membership open to any woman with a commitment to women’s sex-based rights and concerns”.

Founding members Serena Worley, Maeve Halligan and Thea Sewell said the society was created due to what they view as a dominance of transgender issues in Cambridge’s student culture.

Maeve Halligan, President of CUSW, spoke to Varsity in October about her reasons for creating the society: “I acknowledge [claims of transphobia] as a point of view, but I can’t respect a view that is so clearly not factually based and that will consciously erode the rights of women to have single-sex services”.

Last week, Cambridge University’s Students’ Union (SU) approved the society, saying it was legally obliged to do so, despite believing the society “contradicts” its ethos.

Hours after its registration, the SU published two statements explaining their decision to approve, titled “The registering of gender-critical societies” and “What role does the Students’ Union play in approving societies”.

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As part of a statement, Cambridge SU Student Community and Societies sabbatical officer, Olivia Ledger, said “we value, support and celebrate trans-inclusivity” but explained it is the SU’s “role and legal responsibility […] to register all eligible societies – even if they contradict [our] ethos”.

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A post shared by The Cambridge University Society of Women (@cusocietyofwomen)

“Under the Equality Act of 2010, gender critical beliefs constitute protected philosophical beliefs –  this means that gender critical beliefs are not legally considered harmful […] However, harassment directed at individuals […] is considered harmful, and is against our democratic code of conduct.”.

President of CUSW, Maeve, told The Cambridge Tab her thoughts on the approval: “We are very pleased that the SU registered us at the conclusion of what was a very busy term for us. They unfortunately felt it necessary to upload articles to their website providing explanations for why they did so.

“The SU purports to represent all students, but this unusual treatment of an openly and proudly women-only society, that they perceive as challenging to their ‘ethos’, raises questions about how they can truly claim to do so”.

Earlier this year, Cambridge SU released a statement expressing disappointment at the Supreme Court ruling defining “woman” as referring to biological sex, saying:  “Trans, non-binary and gender-non-conforming people have always existed and will always exist, and their identities are valid irrespective of any court ruling”.

CUSW’s definition of women as “adult human beings belonging to the female sex class” has led to backslash and the society being referred to as  “TERFs” by other students.

The society’s emergence also influenced a statement from Gender Agenda, Cambridge’s Feminist Collective, which released a statement claiming “trans women are women” and that “feminism without intersectionality is not effective, considerate, or productive”.

Despite backlash, the CUSW has received significant external financial support, raising more than £13,000 from over 200 donors, including billionaire and hedge fund founder, Alex Gerko, who donated £3,000.

Cambridge SU and Cambridge University have been contacted for comment.

Featured image via Instagram @cusocietyofwomen and Unsplash