Depending on the sect of Judaism Jews practice, some people are excluded in participating in such rituals.  Judaism is one of the few religions that are made up of a people according to B. Barry Levy Ph.D.  There are only two ways a person is recognized as a Jew.  One is through birth.  Once a Jewish woman bares a child, the child is considered to be jewish.  The other way is through conversion, in which if a male decides to convert to Judaism, he must be circumcised.  Thus, it makes the bar mitzvah celebration exclusive to the Jewish people. Orthodox Jews do not have any initiation ceremonies for women.  Through personal experience, once a person visits a Orthodox Jew synagogue, one notices that women and men are completely separated.  This is because the Jewish law states that in order to focus more on the scriptures and teachings, men women must be separated.  Thus, it makes the minyan a prayer ceremony held specifically for males.