Women's Grand Lodge of France
A French Masonic governing body whose lodges admit women exclusively.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Women's Grand Lodge of France, known in French as the Grande Loge féminine de France and commonly abbreviated GLFF, is a French Masonic jurisdiction for women-only lodges. It is a governing and ritual organization rather than a conventional commercial brand. Its principal role is to charter and coordinate lodges, administer Masonic degrees and rites, and provide an institutional framework for women participating in Freemasonry. The organization emerged from a longer history of women's involvement in French Freemasonry. In the eighteenth century, women connected with Freemasons participated in so-called lodges of adoption, arrangements that allowed women to take part in Masonic-associated activity while remaining outside regular male Freemasonry. The exclusion of women was reinforced by the Anderson Constitutions of 1723, which restricted formal membership in the craft. During the nineteenth century, advocates of women's emancipation and female participation in Freemasonry challenged that boundary. Among the figures associated with this development were Flora Tristan, Louise Michel and Maria Deraismes. Deraismes was initiated into a male lodge in 1882 and later worked with Georges Martin to establish Le Droit humain, an international mixed-gender Masonic order, in 1893. Female Freemasonry subsequently developed through the adoption-lodge tradition. In 1935, male Freemasons associated with that system granted it autonomy. The following year, eight women's lodges assembled in the first women's convent, an early institutional precursor of the GLFF. The organization was disrupted during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. Some members were deported, while others continued to work clandestinely and participated in Resistance activities. After liberation, a post-war convent was re-established in 1945 under the presidency of Anne-Marie Gentily, and the jurisdiction was reorganized in 1946. The movement adopted the name Union maçonnique féminine de France before officially becoming the Women's Grand Lodge of France in 1952. A significant ritual change followed in 1959, when it moved away from the rite of adoption and adopted the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. From the 1960s onward, the GLFF expanded its lodge network in France and established an international presence, including the Lutèce lodge in Geneva, Switzerland. During the following decade, additional lodges were created in France, Switzerland and Belgium, and the organization incorporated further Masonic rites. The French Rite became an important part of this development. The Grand Orient de France provided the GLFF with a patent for the rite, and on 10 March 1973 the first GLFF lodge working under the French Rite, Unité, was formed. Other lodges followed. In 1972, the GLFF also created the Women's Supreme Council of France, adding a higher-degree administrative and ritual structure to its organization. The GLFF is administered through a federal council elected at an annual convention. Its identity is defined by women-only membership and by the preservation and development of Masonic ritual within an autonomous female jurisdiction. It should not be confused with the male Grand Lodge of France or with Le Droit humain, which is a separate mixed-gender Masonic organization. Publicly available reference material identifies the GLFF primarily through its history, governance and ritual jurisdictions; detailed current information about membership, finances and leadership is not established in the supplied sources.
History
The history of the Women's Grand Lodge of France is rooted in the gradual emergence of organized female participation in French Freemasonry. In the eighteenth century, lodges of adoption created a limited form of Masonic cooperation for women, particularly wives and family members of Freemasons. These arrangements did not amount to full admission to regular Freemasonry, whose foundational texts, including the 1723 Anderson Constitutions, excluded women. Nineteenth-century campaigns for women's civic and social equality helped challenge this arrangement. Flora Tristan, Louise Michel and Maria Deraismes are among the figures associated with the wider movement for female participation. Deraismes was initiated into a male lodge in 1882 and, with Georges Martin, founded Le Droit humain in 1893. That organization provided a separate mixed-gender route into Freemasonry, while women-only Freemasonry continued to develop through the adoption-lodge tradition. In 1935, autonomy was conferred on the female adoption-lodge system. In 1936, eight women's lodges met in a convent that served as an embryonic form of a future grand lodge. The Second World War interrupted this development. During the German occupation of France, the lodges disappeared as public organizations; several members were deported, while others operated secretly and took part in Resistance activity. Following the war, a first post-war convent was re-established in 1945 under Anne-Marie Gentily. The jurisdiction was reorganized in 1946 and operated as the Union maçonnique féminine de France until it formally adopted the name Women's Grand Lodge of France in 1952. In 1959, it replaced the rite of adoption with the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, a major step in establishing its independent ritual identity. Expansion followed from the 1960s. Twenty-one lodges were established in France, and the organization opened a lodge in Geneva, Switzerland, known as Lutèce. During the next decade, 76 women's lodges were created across France, Switzerland and Belgium, while additional rites were introduced. The Grand Orient de France granted the GLFF a patent for the French Rite. On 10 March 1973, Unité became the first GLFF lodge working under that rite. The GLFF created the Women's Supreme Council of France in 1972. This institution complemented the grand-lodge structure by providing a framework for higher-degree work. The organization is governed by a federal council elected at an annual convention. Its historical significance lies in creating an autonomous women-only Masonic jurisdiction in France and in extending that model through a network that has included lodges in neighboring European countries.
- 1973
First GLFF French Rite lodge founded
[1]On 10 March, Unité became the first GLFF lodge working under the French Rite after the Grand Orient de France supplied the relevant patent.
- 1972
Women's Supreme Council of France created
[1]The GLFF established the Women's Supreme Council of France to support higher-degree Masonic administration and ritual work.
- 1959
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite adopted
[1]The organization abandoned the rite of adoption and adopted the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.
- 1952
Women's Grand Lodge of France adopts its official name
[1]The Union maçonnique féminine de France officially became the Women's Grand Lodge of France.
- 1946
Jurisdiction reorganized
[1]The post-war women's Masonic jurisdiction underwent structural reorganization.
- 1945
Post-war convent re-established
[1]After wartime disruption and clandestine activity, the first post-war convent was re-formed under the presidency of Anne-Marie Gentily.
- 1936
First women's convent convenes
[1]Eight women's lodges assembled in the first convent, an early organizational precursor of the Women's Grand Lodge of France.
- 1935
Autonomy granted to female adoption Freemasonry
[1]The female adoption-lodge system received autonomy, creating the institutional conditions for a later women-only grand lodge.
- 1893
Le Droit humain is founded
[1]Maria Deraismes and Georges Martin founded the international mixed-gender Masonic order Le Droit humain, an important parallel development in the history of women and Freemasonry.
- 1882
Maria Deraismes is initiated into a male lodge
[1]Maria Deraismes became an important figure in the development of modern female and mixed-gender Freemasonry after being initiated into a male lodge.
Products and positioning
An autonomous French women-only Masonic jurisdiction focused on lodge organization, ritual practice, and the historical development of female Freemasonry.
Masonic organization
Women-only Masonic lodges
The GLFF's primary institutional offering is its network of women-only lodges. Lodges provide the local setting for meetings, initiation, degree work, ritual observance and collective study. They operate within the jurisdictional and administrative framework established by the grand lodge.
Masonic rite · 1959
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
Adopted by the GLFF in 1959, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite replaced the earlier rite of adoption as the organization's principal ritual framework. It forms part of the GLFF's system of Masonic degree work and contributes to its autonomous ritual identity.
Masonic rite · 1973
French Rite
The French Rite became part of the GLFF's ritual activity after the Grand Orient de France provided a patent. Unité, founded on 10 March 1973, was the first GLFF lodge to work under this rite.
Brand decisions
1973
Introduction of the French RiteProduct launchBackground
The Grand Orient de France provided the GLFF with a patent for the French Rite, enabling the creation of lodges working in that tradition.
Action taken
The Unité lodge was established on 10 March as the first GLFF lodge using the French Rite.
Aftermath
Additional women's lodges subsequently adopted the French Rite.
1972
Creation of the Women's Supreme Council of FranceStrategyBackground
The expansion of the GLFF's lodge network created a need for an institution supporting higher-degree work and related ritual administration.
Action taken
The GLFF created the Women's Supreme Council of France.
Aftermath
The council added a higher-degree organizational layer to the women's Masonic structure.
1959
Change from the rite of adoption to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish RiteStrategyBackground
The GLFF was developing as an autonomous women-only Masonic jurisdiction and sought a ritual structure distinct from the earlier adoption-lodge tradition.
Action taken
The organization discontinued the rite of adoption and adopted the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.
Aftermath
The change strengthened the GLFF's independent Masonic identity and provided the main ritual framework for subsequent expansion.
Sources2 sources
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