Gender-neutral writing
In modern English it is no longer considered appropriate to use the pronouns he, him, his as gender-neutral options in your writing, in other words as the default options when you do not know someone’s gender. Nor is it appropriate to use the pronouns she, her, hers, nor variations such as he/she or he or she as these would exclude people who are non-binary.
You can use 3 main techniques to make your writing gender-neutral. Read this extract from the All-Ireland Arbitration Rules 2020*, which includes the pronoun his. How you could change this sentence to make it gender-neutral? Make a note of your answers before reading the suggested answers below:
Rule 4: Selection and Appointment of Arbitrator
4.2 The appointment of an arbitrator shall take effect upon the Arbitrator’s acceptance of his appointment to the Branch Chairman and to the parties to the reference in writing.
Suggested answers:
Note: apart from the pronoun his, this sentence also refers to the Chairman which should be changed to the gender-neutral word Chairperson or Chair.
Change the pronoun his to their : ‘The appointment of an arbitrator shall take effect upon the Arbitrator’s acceptance of their appointment to the Branch Chairperson …’. In modern English it is acceptable to use their as a singular pronoun. But sometimes this option can cause ambiguity : see below.
Repeat the noun Arbitrator: ‘The appointment of an arbitrator shall take effect upon the Arbitrator’s acceptance of the Arbitrator’s appointment to the Branch Chairperson …’. This may be a bit cumbersome but it is gender-neutral.
Remove the need for a pronoun: ‘The appointment of an arbitrator shall take effect upon the Arbitrator’s acceptance of the appointment to the Branch Chairperson…’
Sometimes, using the pronouns they, them, their can create ambiguity, as in this extract from the same Rules:
Rule 28: Costs of the Reference and of the Arbitration
28.3 From the commencement of the arbitration all the parties shall be jointly and severally liable to the Arbitrator for his costs, fees and expenses until they are discharged in full.
If we change his to their, it is not entirely clear whose costs we are referring to. It would be better to say: ‘…all the parties shall be jointly and severally liable to the Arbitrator for the Arbitrator’s costs…’
For an excellent guide to gender-neutral drafting see: https://www.interlawdiversityforum.org/guide-to-gender-neutral-drafting
*You can find the Rules here: https://www.ciarb.ie/news/ciarb-all-ireland-arbitration-rules-2020.1132.html