[Archbp Justin Welby]…also told reporters that he could not say with any certainty when the first women might be appointed bishop. “The Archbishops have just one vote out of 14 [on the Crown Nominations Commission], and our ability to control or prevent appointments is very limited. I know there are some very good people, and we hope that some will also find their way on to the bishops’ bench.”
If bishops retire as expected, Archbishop Welby said, women could make up half the College of Bishops within ten to 15 years.
Campaigners for women bishops reacted with pleasure to the news that the long road to allowing women into the episcopate had now ended. The chairwoman of WATCH (Women and the Church), Hillary Cotton, told the BBC that the move was highly significant.
“It is not just about having women wearing purple, it is about changing the culture of the Church to be more equal.”