Women's Institutes
![Women's Institute serving refreshments at a Saint George's Day event in Rochester, Kent](/Images/godic/202501/29/English_Festival,_St._George's_Day,_RIverside,_Medway,_Womens'_Institute4011.jpg")
![Women's Institute building in Llanfairpwll. Dating from 1915, this is the oldest W.I. in Britain](/Images/godic/202501/29/Women's_Institute_building_-_geograph.org.uk_-_9268564011.jpg")
![Former Buttonville Women's Institute Hall in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The WI closed in the 1980s, the hall is now used as a daycare and a community centre.](/Images/godic/202501/29/Buttonville_Women's_Institute_Community_Hall_front_door4011.jpg")
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The Women's Institute (WI), a community-based organisation for women, was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada by Adelaide Hoodless in 1897. It then expanded to Britain, and later to other countries. Many WIs belong to the Associated Country Women of the World organization.