The working group has completed it's task and submitted a report and recommendations to the Central Council for Church Bellringers.   This website is minimally maintained as an archive and a benchmark to measure future progress.


 

Gender bias in conducting

Having learnt as a teenager I had lots of opportunities for calling touches, quarters and peals. I met and married a ringer and then all the opportunities seemed to stop! When visiting a tower or practice night together my husband would always be the one to be asked to call something, never me! I found this hugely frustrating. Discussing the topic with other ringing wives I found I was not alone. Our solution to the problem was to set up Ladies Who... a group of ladies who wanted to develop their conducting skills without feeling intimidated by men who think they know it all! We are often mocked for our ringing group which usually takes the form of a QP day.  We thoroughly enjoy our ringing together which always includes coffee and lunch, often at a garden centre with an attached shoe shop! During Lockdown we met in Ringing Room each week and so far have three QPs under our belts. Touches and QPs of Doubles/Minor/Triples/Major are now all comfortably within our repertoire but we still find our husbands are the ones asked to call touches!