WIGS was established in 1988 with the aim of bringing together female
Germanists in Great Britain and Ireland and supporting them in all aspects of
their professional life. Membership is open to any woman who is currently teaching,
studying, or working in any area of German Studies, or who has done so in the
past.

The main event organised by WIGS is the annual conference, which takes place
at a different institution each year in November. This is an interdisciplinary,
one-day event combining academic papers, a business meeting, and exchange of
information. In 1993 it was decided to hold a larger conference at the
University of Nottingham, open to non-members, on the subject of ‘Women and the
Wende’. Following its success, open conferences have since been held in 1998
(‘Women and Autobiography’, University of Manchester), in 2000 (‘Myths and
Mythology’, University of Edinburgh) and in 2003 (‘Local Narratives / Global
Narratives of Identity’, University of Bath). The last open conference took
place in July 2008, and was hosted by the University of Liverpool. In November
2010, WIGS held a joint conference at Swansea University on ‘Friendship’
together with its sister-organisation WISPS.