Although this may seem harmless to some, it can have a negative effect on clarity and the image of a company. Rafie Faruq is the co-founder of Genie AI and its CEO. He discusses current efforts to include gender-neutral language into legal contracts. How firms can leverage these efforts to create an inclusive environment for employees and clients.
The balance of power has changed over the years from the employer to the employee. This is a good thing. Building inclusive workplaces is not only a moral right, but also a competitive advantage.
Language is a major factor in inclusive environments. This includes the language used in company documents, contracts and starter packs. A shocking statistic was discovered recently: almost two-thirds of legal contracts use gendered language. Despite the fact that UK legislation switched to gender-neutral language back in 2007, this is still a shocking statistic.
Gendered terms, such as “chairman”, can be used to reinforce exclusion-by design attitudes and practices. People are constantly shaped by the things they hear, read and listen to. Gendered language can have the power to perpetuate outdated social structures, patriarchal narratives, and power imbalances.
Legal contracts are a foundation for setting the tone in the workplace. They must outline concepts such as workplace policies, worker rights, and contractual obligations. How can legal professionals help create a more equitable workplace environment?
Gender-neutral Language: Why it is Important
Gendered language reinforces stereotypes and creates an exclusionary atmosphere. This is the main problem with it. A document that is constantly littered with male pronouns reinforces patriarchy. This is a problem that still exists in legal contracts.
It is essential to set the tone for the workplace by setting the wording of legal agreements. This includes defining concepts such as workplace policies, worker rights, and contractual obligations.
According to the latest data, contracts refer to ‘himself’ 88% more often than herself’. Likewise, ‘chairman’ is 250x more likely than a ‘chairwoman” to be mentioned in contracts. These statistics are not surprising, even though you might think they would be absurd to consider in 2022.
There are many other reasons to use gender-inclusive or gender-neutral language. These include clarity and removing ambiguity, as well as reflecting a society that is less likely conform to traditional gender binary.
If a contract uses the male gender as its ‘default’ then clarity is going to suffer. How can you tell if a section addresses men or women separately? Gender-neutral terms can help to create clarity and meaning. You can also use gendered terms as needed for specific examples.
This is because the binary use gender of today’s society is rapidly becoming obsolete and out-of-touch. It is fluid and gender-neutral language provides a platform for inclusive, respectful, and anti-discriminatory standards to be embraced.
How to use Gender Neutral Language
What is the best way to implement gender-neutral language in workplaces? The best way to start is to use gender-neutral language in all communication, including contracts and document drafting.
Two simple examples include:
- Avoiding gender-specific pronouns (e.g. He/him/she/her
- Avoiding gendered nouns (e.g. chairman, actress)
Here’s a list of gendered words you should avoid. These were used to analyze the data: ‘chairman,’ gentleman,’?himself,’?ladies’,???Mrs,???,…?salesman,……
According to the latest data, contracts refer to ‘himself’ 88% more often than herself’. Chairmen are 250 times more likely than ‘chairwoman’ to be mentioned in contracts.
Although the research was slow, it did show some evidence that there is a movement towards gender neutral standards. In the last five years,’salespersons’ were twice as popular as’salesman/saleswoman’. The usage of chair’ and ‘chairperson’ also increased by more than two-fold. In the last five years, there has been a more than 10% decline in gendered pronoun usage.
This seems like an easy, necessary, and worthwhile change. Hence, why is there so little progress?
Modern Tech and Stagnant Change
Many contracts still use gendered language because it is difficult to amend existing contracts that have been ‘tried, tested’. It can be costly to use legal teams to change a contract’s language so that it matches the recipient’s gender. Many people just choose to keep the gendered language, regardless of who they are.
What can you do if your company is desperate to make these changes in contract drafting, but you have limited time, money, and resources?
Modern technology platforms make legal support more accessible so that workplaces and contracts can follow their lead. There are AI-driven, community-led alternatives to contract drafting that take out the tedious parts. These alternative options can create a database of gender neutral contract templates to empower businesses to adopt inclusive approaches to legal issues. The best part? You can access them for free.
Gender-Neutral Language is the “Go-To”
Do organisations need to make a concerted effort not to only refer to the male or female genders but also to language to reflect our diverse society. The simple answer is yes. It shouldn’t be something you only want, but people and organisations should feel the need.
It is essential for breaking down exclusionary messages and entrenched stereotypes. Additionally, it serves a practical purpose in creating clear, unambiguous language. It creates a shift within traditional power structures and gives voice to those previously excluded and discriminated against by these documents and environments.
A powerful start to your journey towards greater employee inclusion is recognising the power and importance of words in company policies and legal contracts. Tech opens up the possibility of easily accessible legal assistance for gender-neutral legal writing, which means that building inclusive workplaces becomes easier.
Gender-neutral language is a must-have as we move into 2023.
Rafie Faruq, CEO
Tel: +44 07982 719527
Rafie Faruq is the founder of Genie AI. He is a lifelong programmer and holds a MSc in Machine Learning. He is a former derivatives trader, and he studied philosophy and economics at University. He enjoys thinking laterally and re-creating the legal infrastructure of tomorrow. He has served as a consultant to the Law Policy Commission, published on The Law Society, and represented the Ministry of Justice in foreign trade missions.
GenieAIis an innovative legaltech startup that develops solutions to empower lawyers to create contracts with the full knowledge of the firm. The company offers training and educational talks on smart contracts using artificial intelligence.