truth in tolerance, knowledge through diversity, bonds of unity, strength in trust
Gender Eligibility
In 2019, the National Delegation of Gamma Rho Lambda voted to amend our recruitment language to live up to our all-inclusive purpose, outlined in our national constitution. Our previous policy stated that “women and transgender individuals who uphold the Purpose of the Sorority and meet the membership requirements of the Sorority are eligible for membership.” Our current policy is below.
People of all genders who uphold the Purpose of the Sorority and meet the membership requirements of the Sorority are eligible for membership.
We protect our own. Early in our sorority’s life, we were an "all-women sorority", and our membership included trans men and gender non-conforming siblings who came out and began their transition after joining. Early on, we changed our recruitment language to "a sorority that welcomed women and transgender people." With this change, GRL could recognize and retain our current brothers and siblings, and we could create a more welcoming space for transgender people in our organization. In 2017, GRL introduced a “Big Brother” alum status for our trans brothers who wanted to publicly affiliate themselves with us but struggled identifying as alum members of a sorority. Over time, many of our trans brothers and siblings still struggled with their relationship to being a member of a sorority, so further change was needed for us to continue to uphold our mission as an all-inclusive sorority.
To protect trans people. To protect trans members of Gamma Rho Lambda.
By officially becoming a sorority for people of any gender, Gamma Rho Lambda pledges makes a space for our trans brothers and siblings, and we pledge to ensure that our members can feel proud to call themselves a Gamma Rho, without having to out themselves by being in the “and transgender individuals” part of our previous “women and transgender individuals” membership policy.
Gamma Rho Lambda now provides a space for potential members who may not be out as transgender, who may need space to explore their gender in an environment with other transgender individuals and allies, and who may not have fit into the strictest definitions of “women and transgender individuals” when they decide to join.
Our sorority is for transgender women who don’t know they are women just yet, but know that Gamma Rho Lambda could be a home for them. For the transgender individuals whose presentation doesn’t match what’s inside. For the transgender, genderqueer, and nonbinary people, who want to be afforded the same opportunity to explore their gender the way GRL has allowed its membership to explore theirs for the last 20 years.