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Women in brass bands

With the rumours flying around about Black Dyke and whether it was or was
not about money or about women joining the band why some people left, I
thought it was time I posted this, which I was going to post a couple of
months ago, but didn't end up doing it.

I write the newsletter for our band and sometimes I might write an editorial
about a subject that I'm interested in.  Until I came on this list I guess
mid-way through last year I had absolutely no idea that there were still
brass bands in the world that did not accept women players.  A few of you
that I chat and email with privately will remember how thunderstruck I was
when I found that out.

How archaic is this?  I thought we were doing everything in our power to
progress our brass band movement and yet here I was hearing that some bands
were like 100 years behind the times.

This got me interested and I made some enquiries over here in Australia a
couple of months ago.  From what I can ascertain there are no brass bands in
Australia with restrictions on women joining.  I may be wrong, perhaps
someone can verify this.  Of course there are bands that are predominantly
male and there is a perception that women are perhaps not welcome, but from
what I've gathered, there are no rules or restrictions over here.

Let me pose a couple of questions.

1.  Out of these bands that do not accept women, would it be in their
constitution that women are not accepted?  Or is it just a "understood rule"
in the brass band world over there that they are not welcome and not even
given a chance?

2.  I would presume that a woman would have to undergo the same auditions as
any male joining these top bands, so if she was the better person for the
job, would it be just her sex excluding her from being able to join?

3.  I wonder if in the past years that if a woman has tried to join these
"male only" bands and been knocked back, even if she was of equal ability,
whether she would have recourse to Equal Opportunity - as I really shudder
to think what would happen over here in the courts if the same was to occur
in Australia.

4.  Trying to see both sides of the coin here - because it seems that it's
the top bands such as Black Dyke, Grimethorpe, etc. which I understand have
been male only for so long - I wonder if it is because of the fact that
there are only males in the band that allows them to dominate the brass band
world over there?  I don't know, perhaps the fellows wouldn't be able to
concentrate or something if there was a woman sitting alongside?

5.  I'd actually be interested to know which of the well known bands have
restrictions on women joining?


It really makes me wonder what these bands or their committees have been
scared of for so long, for not allowing women to join.  So if finally Black
Dyke have allowed women in (for the right reasons, not just to get a lottery
grant, but because it's the right thing to do) - congratulations to them!

It's high time all the male only bands in the world moved into the current
decade and stopped living with the dinosaurs.  Just think of all the
talented players you have missed out on by not letting women in.

I'll be interested to read responses to this.

And yes I will be doing my editorial for my newsletter now.  This has really
stirred up my interest in doing it again.  Once I finish it, I'll post it
for you to read.


Carol Wills
Footscray-Yarraville City Band
Melbourne, Australia

(Comments are my own, not that of the band)


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