It’s a busy day at Beta Enterprises, with their annual planning going on:
Leo greets his diverse team with a “Hey guys! We have a busy day ahead”
Leya lets her team know that “The Chairman, Ms. Katie will be joining us for today’s meeting. So be prepared for some difficult questions”.
When presenting their latest product, Harry says “Our product isn’t meant for just one section of the market, it appeals to the common man”
Do you notice a pattern to these common phrases you heard around your office?
All the conversations use language that is inherently masculine to apply to people of all genders.
But why do we tend to use masculine language?
The answer is the unconscious biases that we hold about associating certain genders with certain activities and positions.
What is unconscious bias?
Our brain unconsciously processes about 11 million pieces of information in a single second, while our conscious processing capability is about 40 pieces at the same time.
With so much information being processed every second, the brain tends to “jump to conclusions”, in the words of Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner and author of “Thinking Fast and Slow”. To come to conclusions and make decisions, our brains make use of “unconscious biases”.
Unconscious bias refers to associations we hold that are not a part of our conscious awareness and control. They are often a product of social conditioning and are learned associations between specific qualities and a social category.
Our association of male pronouns and gendered terms with certain jobs, tasks and positions can also be a result of unconscious biases we can hold about who generally occupies these roles.
What if I told you that this isn’t just something we do as individuals but a legally recognised practice?
How is gendered language used in the law?
The General Clauses Act, 1897 is the law that explains how certain common terms should be interpreted across various Acts and Rules in India. In terms of pronouns, it states that the use of masculine pronouns shall include the feminine pronoun as well and the use of masculine terms shall also include other genders.
This means that all laws currently in force in India can use just “he”, and “him” pronouns but shall be interpreted to cover people of all gender identities and gendered terms such as “Chairman” shall also include any person who does not identify with the gender who occupies these positions.
The Section goes on to explain that the same is to shorten the law as well as save the “draftsman” from the “tortuous process of mentioning the female of the species”.
Essentially, the drafter of the law believed that an umbrella use of male pronouns and terms was most practical so that the drafter of every other law would not have to clarify by explicitly stating “he or she” and “her or him” at every instance as well as using the female version of terms such as “draftswoman” or “Chairwoman” every time they appeared in a statute.
How does gendered usage in the law create unconscious biases?
The use of exclusively male pronouns for all legislation tends to create unconscious bias- where we link positions and genders. For example, the Constitution of India uses exclusively male pronouns and uses “Chairman” to refer to the Head of various departments and bodies covered under the Constitution.
These biases especially come into play when we are talking about people in positions of power. For example, even laws that are aimed at empowering women such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 or the PoSH Act 2013 rely on male pronouns to refer to members of the Management, defined as the “employer.” The Act states that “The employer shall act upon the recommendation within sixty days of its receipt by him”, explicitly referring to the employer with the male pronouns.
This unconscious bias reflected in the law also sets the base for all other legal conversations in the country- from contract drafting and discussions in Courts of law to common parlance.
Even the approach of using female pronouns continues to exclude those who do not identify with gendered pronouns. The effective use of gender-neutral pronouns such as “they” and “them” can play a role in effectively creating inclusion.
Changing gendered attitudes and language
Even the law has shown promise regarding recognising the negative impact of using exclusively male pronouns. In 2022, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill used exclusively “she” and “her” to refer to all, in an attempt to empower women. However, the law itself is yet to pass.
In 2023, the Supreme Court of India released the ‘Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes‘ to help members of the legal community identify and avoid the use of harmful language and stereotypes concerning women.
Even though the practice of masculine language has existed since the 1800s, the recent decade has shown great progress. These moves create a path for continued progress towards a more gender-inclusive attitude toward the law and its practice.
What are some actionable steps that workplaces can take?
While we see the law take steps towards change, workplaces can take active steps towards recognising unconscious bias and using gender-neutral terms.
Here are a few actionable steps to create gender-inclusive workspaces:
- Use “they” and “them” pronouns when referring to people whose pronouns one doesn’t know or is unsure of
- Use gender-neutral greetings like “Hello all”, “Hi everyone” and “Hey folks” instead of “Hey guys”, “Hello ladies” etc.
- Use gender-neutral terms for jobs and positions such as “Chairperson”, “Flight Attendant”, “Businessperson” etc.
- Avoid addressing emails to “Ms./Mr.” or “Sir/Madam”. You can use the name of the person to whom the email is addressed or their professional group such as “Hiring Committee” or “Member of the Board”
- Implement gender-neutral Company Policies across the organisation to create a safe workplace for all. In specific instances such as the PoSH Act 2013 where the law is gendered, organisations can create a gender-neutral policy to give space to every employee to access a safe workplace.
- Audit all organisational communication for gender-neutral language. When drafting internal policies, marketing material, internal communication and job descriptions, be mindful of using gendered language that could perpetuate gender-based stereotypes.