ANZAB Women

On this page find out about:

Why feature women?
Tracking our statistics
Ideas for improving female participation
Firsts for women in Australia and New Zealand
News of women in Australia and New Zealand

Also see

Why feature women?

If 90 per cent of people in an area are men then you're probably not accessing the whole of the talent in the population. (Cheryl Praeger)

Unfortunately this applies to our quarter-peal conductors, and even more so our peal conductors (2019 figures shown below). It suggests we should be working to improve female participation.

Bar graph

ANZAB statistics appear to mimic those in other ringing societies. See the article from 2021 and the section below, tracking our statistics.

This page is to celebrate the achievements of female ringers, to list ideas that may make bell ringing more friendly to everyone, including women, and to collect any gender-based statistics tracking ANZAB participation.

Please let us know of other achievements or ideas you would like to see listed here by contacting the

Tracking our statistics

Women in Ringing, the website of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers 2020 working group for gender balance in ringing, has the following graph, which shows that female ringers are very under-represented in many activities. This version has been annotated with ANZAB figures relevant for 2019. More details of ANZAB statistics are here.

Image taken from Women In Ringing showing the proportion of women represented in various aspects of ringing.
Click on the image for a larger view.

Ideas for improving female participation

Teach everyone to be a conductor.
Teach everyone to ring light and heavy bells.
Ensure women and men are offered back bells equally.
Ensure women and men are asked to conduct equally.
Be as encouraging as possible, while still safe, regarding children visiting the tower.
Keep in touch with ringers who take a break (e.g. parental leave).
Be flexible to support new parents continue ringing.
Record band placements and conductors, and offers of conducting.
Discuss each ringer's goals and try to support them.
Ensure that people feel safe. Don't underestimate how vulnerable young women can feel.
Watch your language, ensuring it is inclusive, and similarly supportive to women and men.
Foster a tower culture that values respect, solidarity, and friendship.
Aim to make consensus decisions rather than majority decisions.
Monitor your tower statistics for women ringing and conducting quarter-peals, and set a target to improve it if necessary.