The WI is made up of many layers which can get complicated so we thought we'd take a look at how it all works. As you can see from the diagram above, there are four main layers, from individual WIs all the way through to The National Federation.
The National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) The NFWI represents WI members across the UK and provides support and guidance to federations and WIs. The NFWI board provides overall leadership to the WI organisation. There are currently 220,000 WI members in just under 7,000 WIs.
The Oxfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes (OFWI) Federations provide activities for WIs in their region. Most are based on counties, but not all. There are 69 Federations across England, Wales and the Islands. We are part of the Oxfordshire Federation that has over 4,600 members spread across 140 WIs.
The Icknield Group This is our local group, made up of seven WIs close to us, including our town-mates Thame WI. We were asked to join The Icknield Group not long after forming. Some groups are spread over large distances and not all WIs are part of a group. Some WIs 'twin' with other WIs in totally different parts of the country to make new friends and learn from different people.
Thame Belles WI Each WI is an independent, self-governing, local charity that any women over the age of 18 can join. Thame Belles was founded in April 2015.