Editing Gender marking in job titles

{{Short description|Name of a job that also specifies or implies the gender of the person performing that job}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
A '''gender-specific job title''' is a name of a [[job]] that also specifies or implies the [[gender]] of the person performing that job. For example, in English, the job titles ''stewardess'' and ''seamstress'' imply that the person is female, whilst the corresponding job titles ''steward'' and ''seamster'' imply that the person is male. A '''gender-neutral job title''', on the other hand, is one that does not specify or imply gender, such as ''firefighter'' or ''lawyer''. In some cases, it may be debatable whether a title is gender-specific; for example, ''chairman'' appears to denote a male (because of the ending ''-man''), but the title is also applied sometimes to women.

Proponents of [[gender-neutral language]] generally advocate the use of gender-neutral job titles, particularly in contexts where the gender of the person in question is not known or not specified. For example, they prefer ''flight attendant'' to ''stewardess'' or ''steward'', and ''police officer'' to ''policeman'' or ''policewoman''. In some cases this may involve deprecating the use of certain specifically female titles (such as ''authoress''), thus encouraging the use of the corresponding unmarked form (such as ''author'') as a fully gender-neutral title.

The above applies to [[gender neutrality in English]] and in some other [[gender neutrality in languages without grammatical gender|languages without grammatical gender]] (where [[grammatical gender]] is a feature of a language's grammar that requires every noun to be placed in one of several classes, often including feminine and masculine). In [[gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender|languages with grammatical gender]], the situation is altered by the fact that nouns for people are often constrained to be inherently masculine or feminine, and the production of truly gender-neutral titles may not be possible. In such cases, proponents of gender-neutral language may instead focus on ensuring that feminine and masculine words exist for every job, and that they are treated with equal status.

==Examples==
The [[suffix]] ''-man'' had the meanings "person" and "adult male" in [[Old English]] (see [[Man (word)|''man'']]), but, even when used as a gender-neutral term to include women, it was understood to still mainly refer to males.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=man, n.1 (and int.)|url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/113198|work=OED Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en-GB|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Around the 20th century, the gender-neutral use of ''man'' and -''man'' declined.<ref name=":0" /> Thus job titles that include this suffix, such as ''fireman'', ''salesman'' and ''alderman'', generally imply that the holder is male.<ref name=":0"/> While some of these job titles have feminine variants (e.g. ''alderwoman''), others do not, because traditionally the positions in question were not occupied by women.<ref name="handbook linguistics">Aarts, Bas and April M. S. McMahon. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tzyAyl1retcC&pg=PA737 ''The Handbook of English Linguistics'']. Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Pub., 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-4051-1382-3}}, p. 737.</ref> For most such titles, gender-neutral equivalents now also exist, such as ''police officer'', ''salesperson'' or ''sales representative'' (for ''salesman'' or ''saleswoman''), etc. However, some proposed gender-neutral terms have not attained such common usage (as with ''fisher'' as an alternative to ''fisherman''). Military ranks with the suffix ''-man'' normally remain unchanged when applied to women: for example, a woman serving in the [[Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers]] might be known as Craftsman Atkins.

Examining the ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine corpus (texts from the 1920s to the 2000s), researcher Maria Bovin found:<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Bovin |first=Maria |editor-first=Stroud |editor-last=Christopher |title=Occupational titles and supposed gender-neutrality: A corpus-based diachronic study on gender-neutral occupational titles in American English |publisher=Department of English, [[Stockholm University]] |date=2016 |type=BA |url=http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:934656/FULLTEXT01.pdf |access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref>
{{block quote|The usage of the neutral term fire fighter has increased, starting in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the frequency of usage is lower, but it is also evident from the rows showing the total instances of all of the terms that the overall mentioning of the professionals in this line of work was less frequent in this decade. In addition, it is notable that the usage of firewoman is non-existent. In the case of policewoman, the frequency of usage is very low in all of the decades examined, but there are at least some instances of the term being used. The term firewoman, on the other hand, appears to never have been used in the magazine.}}

In the case of ''chairman'', gender-neutral alternatives (such as ''chair'' and ''chairperson'') exist, although in some contexts the word ''chairman'' is used even where it denotes (or could denote) a woman. For details, see ''[[Chairman]]''.

Feminine terms such as ''actress'', ''usherette'' and ''comedienne'' are [[Markedness|marked]] with respect to the masculine (''actor'', ''usher'', ''comedian'') both formally (i.e. something is added to the masculine form) and in the sense that only the masculine form can be used generically to describe a mixed-gender group of people.<ref name="handbook linguistics" /> This means that the "masculine" form can in fact serve as a gender-neutral term (a solution often favored by proponents of gender-neutral language, who thus tend to deprecate or restrict usage of the specifically feminine forms). Some such feminine forms, such as ''poetess'' and ''authoress'', are now rarely used. Others, such as ''actress'', remain common, although increasing numbers of women are calling themselves ''actors'' rather than ''actresses''.<ref name="biz">{{Cite news |title=From actor to actress and back again |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jan-18-ca-actress18-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |last=Linden |first=Sheri |date=18 January 2009 |access-date=29 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>  The [[Screen Actors Guild]] annually gives out awards for "Best Male Actor" and "Best Female Actor".

The term ''[[waiter]]'' appears to retain masculine specificity (with ''waitress'' as the corresponding feminine term). Other gender-neutral terms have therefore been proposed, such as ''server'' (alternatives include ''waitron'', ''waitstaff'' or ''waitperson''), though these are rarely used outside North America.

The term ''[[midwife]]'' looks superficially to be feminine (since it ends with ''-wife''), but it is used for either gender. The term comes from an [[Old English language|Old English]] term meaning "with the woman".<ref>{{OED|Midwife}}</ref>

In an examination of "business-related titles" such as businessman and business people, "overall usage of these terms seems to have decreased since the 1960s" when examining ''Time'' magazine:  When "looking specifically at the difference between the gender-marked titles and the gender-neutral ones, businessperson(s) and businesspeople, there has been an increase usage of the neutral businesspeople (if all spelling variations are included). Yet, this is not a large increase, and as it is used to refer to a group of people rather than an individual, its relevance may be questionable. Noticeable is the fact that businessperson is remarkably infrequent, and only appears in three decades. The term businesswoman may be increasing again between the 1980s and the 2000s, after a lower usage in the preceding fifty years. It has its highest frequency of usage in the 1920s."<ref>{{cite web |title=Occupational titles and supposed genderneutrality A corpus-based diachronic study on genderneutral occupational titles in American English |url=http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:934656/FULLTEXT01.pdf |website=DiVA portal |access-date=15 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201075357/http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:934656/FULLTEXT01.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2019 |language=en |date=2016 |url-status=live|s2cid=148355388}}</ref>

Origin of the word "master" are late [[Old English]]: "a man having control or authority; a teacher or tutor", from Latin ''magister'' (n.), a contrastive adjective ("he who is greater") meaning "chief, head, director, teacher", and the source of Old French ''maistre'', French ''maître'', Spanish and Italian ''maestro'', Portuguese ''mestre'', Dutch ''meester'', German ''Meister''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=master – Origin and meaning |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |url= https://www.etymonline.com/word/master |access-date=27 November 2020}}</ref>

"Garner's Usage Tip of the Day" states, in regards to "layman; layperson; lay person", that {{"'}}Layman' is the most common among these terms and is commonly regarded as unexceptionable — in reference to members of both sexes, of course."<ref>{{Cite web |first=Bryan A. |last=Garner |author-link=Bryan A. Garner |title=Garner's Usage Tip of the Day: layman; layperson; lay person |url=https://www.lawprose.org/garners-usage-tip-of-the-day-layman-layperson-lay-person/ |access-date=27 November 2020 |work=LawProse.org|date=18 December 2014 }}</ref>

==Evolution over time==
The case for switching to gender-neutral job titles usually makes an [[Ideology|ideological]] argument, that gender-specific job titles at some level promote [[sexism]] in the workplace.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=28 January 2015|title=Sexist Job Titles and the Influence of Language on Gender Stereotypes|url=https://humanities.byu.edu/sexist-job-titles-and-the-influence-of-language-on-gender-stereotypes/|access-date=9 December 2021|website={{!}} College of Humanities|language=en-US}}</ref> For example, fire chiefs have argued that when the public uses the term "fireman" instead of "[[firefighter]]", it reinforces the popular image that firefighting is only a job for men, and thus makes it difficult for them to recruit women.<ref>{{cite web |first=Dany |last=Cotton |title=Why We Are Campaigning to Shake Off the Outdated Term 'Firemen' |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dany-cotton/firefighter-dany-cotton_b_18293684.html |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=17 October 2017 |edition=UK}}</ref> Studies found that people assume maleness when they read job titles with ''-man'',<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Deshmukh|first=Ameya|date=12 November 2019|title=Bias In Job Descriptions: Your First Step to Creating a More Diverse Workforce|url=https://www.mya.com/blog/unconscious-bias-in-job-descriptions/|access-date=9 December 2021|website=Mya}}</ref> and they found that women were less likely to apply to jobs that used ''-man'' in their application or that used gender-coded words such as "dominate" or "aggressive."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Callaghan |first=Jo |date=2025-02-27 |title=Removing Bias from Job Descriptions and Adverts {{!}} Gravitas |url=https://www.gravitasgroup.co.uk/blog/removing-bias-from-job-descriptions-and-adverts |url-status=live |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Gravitas |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2"/>

During the 19th century, attempts to overlay [[Latin]] [[grammar]] rules onto English required the use of feminine endings in nouns ending with -ess.<ref name=ess>{{cite web |title=-ess - definition of -ess |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/-ess |website=The Free Dictionary |access-date=26 November 2022}}</ref> This produced words like ''doctress'' and ''professoress'' and even ''lawyeress'',<ref name=ess /> all of which have fallen out of use; though ''waitress'', ''stewardess'', and ''actress'' are in modern use.

Use of the term ''chairman'' remains widespread in predominantly male sectors of society, but ''chairperson'' or ''chair'' is now widespread in society in general, at least in the US,<ref>{{cite web |title=person |at=Usage Note |work=[[American Heritage Dictionary]] |edition=4th |via=Bartleby.com |quote=Only 48 percent (43 percent of the women and 50 percent of the men) accept the use of the word in 'Emily Owen, chairman of the Mayor's Task Force, issued a statement assuring residents that their views would be solicited.' |url= http://www.bartleby.com/61/85/P0208500.html |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080421173654/http://www.bartleby.com/61/85/P0208500.html |archive-date=21 April 2008 |access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref> Canada and increasingly in the UK. For example, the boards of most [[Fortune 500]] companies in the [[United States]] are presided over by a "chairman" and also the overwhelming majority of the ([[FTSE 100]]) companies in the [[United Kingdom]] have a "chairman", while committees in the [[United States House of Representatives]] are presided over by a "chair", as of 2009.<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/06/house-gender-neutral/ House language becomes gender neutral]</ref> Since most of these are, however, men, a more correct description of the current language situation needs to consider use in organisations whose chairperson is a woman. Less than half of the members of the ''[[American Heritage Dictionary]]''<nowiki/>'s usage panel accept the use of the word ''chairman'' in describing a woman.<ref>{{cite web |title=man |at=Usage Note |work=[[American Heritage Dictionary]] |edition=4th |via=Bartleby.com |quote=Only 48 percent (43 percent of the women and 50 percent of the men) accept the use of the word in 'Emily Owen, chairman of the Mayor's Task Force, issued a statement assuring residents that their views would be solicited.' |url= http://www.bartleby.com/61/96/M0069600.html |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080222023136/http://www.bartleby.com/61/96/M0069600.html |archive-date=22 February 2008 |access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref>

Some [[Style guide|usage guides]], such as ''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage'', advocate gender-neutral language in circumstances where all sexes are meant to be included.  For instance, a business might advertise that it is looking for a new ''chair'' or ''chairperson'' rather than ''chairman''. Gender-neutral language discourages ''chairman'', on the grounds that some readers would assume women and those of other genders are implicitly excluded from responding to an advertisement using this word.<ref>''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage'' pp 243,4</ref>

''Feminist Philosophy of Language'', a guide on sexism in language and [[feminist language reform]], also discourages the usage of ''man'' and ''-man'' as gender-neutral because it has male bias and erases women under a masculine word.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|last1=Saul|first1=Jennifer|title=Feminist Philosophy of Language|date=2018|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2018/entries/feminism-language/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Fall 2018|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=10 December 2021|last2=Diaz-Leon|first2=Esa}}</ref> They also discourage titles like "lady doctor" because it makes men the default and implies that the ability and competence of workers, in this case a doctor, are dependent on their sex.<ref name=":3" />

The [[Women_in_combat#United_States|United States military]] has also examined traditional job titles, in line with the 2016 decision to allow women to serve in all combat jobs.<ref name="CBSNews">{{Cite news |title=U.S. military tackling gender-neutral job titles |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/some-branches-of-us-military-removing-man-from-job-titles/ |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=9 June 2016 |access-date=2 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==Generally accepted writing conventions==
Proponents of gender-neutral job titles believe that such titles should be used, especially when referring to hypothetical persons. For example, ''firefighter'' instead of ''fireman''; ''mail carrier'', ''letter carrier'', or ''post worker'' rather than ''mailman''; ''flight attendant'' instead of ''steward'' or ''stewardess''; ''bartender'' instead of ''barman'' or ''barmaid''. In the rare case where no useful gender-neutral alternative is available, they believe both male and female terms should be used.

Proponents of gender-neutral language advocate the use of a neuter form when/where appropriate. For example, a company may seek to fill a vacancy and hire a new ''chairperson''. Since a gendered individual doesn't currently hold the position, its title reverts to a neuter form. Once that position is filled, many advocates believe gender can be attached to the title as appropriate (chair''man'' or chair''woman'').

Sometimes this formulation can lead to inconsistent gender-specific usage, in which women become ''chairpersons'' but men remain ''chairmen''. Some women opt to use the word ''chairman'' in preference to ''chairwoman'', subject to the [[Style - Manner of Address|style]] ''Madam'' or ''Mister'' prefixing the title, which they perceive to be gender-neutral by itself.  Particularly in [[academia]], the word [[chairman|Chair]] is often used to designate the person chosen to oversee the [[Agenda (meeting)|agenda]] at meetings of an [[organized group]].

The principle of gender-neutral language dictates that job titles that add suffixes to make them feminine should be avoided. For example, "usher", not "usherette"; "comedian", not "comedienne". Some of these are almost entirely obsolete now, such as sculptress, authoress, [[poetess]], and aviatrix. If gender is relevant, the words ''woman'' or ''female'' should be used instead of "lady" ("my grandmother was the first female doctor in the province"), except if the masculine is "lord" (as in "landlady").  In the case of [[landlord]] or landlady, it may be preferable to find an equivalent title with the same meaning, such as proprietor or lessor.  However, when a woman is in the office of "[[Black Rod|the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod]]", it is changed to "the Lady Usher of the Black Rod" or simply "Usher of the Black Rod", [[Usher of the Black Rod (Canada)|as in Canada]].

Advisors on non-sexist usage deprecate terms such as "male nurse", "female doctor", "male model", or "female judge" because such terms are often used when the gender and sex is irrelevant.<ref name=":3" /> These advisors say that the statement of exception reinforces harmful assumptions about the gender of people in those professions.<ref>[https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/gender-inclusive-language/ "Gender-Inclusive Language"], ''The Writing Center'', [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]</ref>

==Languages other than English==
{{further|Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender}}
When words have a [[grammatical gender]] associated with them, in many languages, they may impose [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] requirements to maintain sentence agreement. That is, there is a non-political content to the word changes, or [[inflection]].  Nevertheless, gender-identification word endings are sometimes dropped, something that happened often in the former [[East Germany]], for example.<ref>{{cite web |first=Benita |last=Blessing |url=http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=120621159894102 |title=Review of: Mary Fulbrook, ''The People's State: East German Society from Hitler to Honecker'' |work=H-Net |location=New Haven |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |date=June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611023253/http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=120621159894102 |archive-date=11 June 2007 |isbn=978-0-300-10884-2}}</ref> Sometimes an entirely new or etymologically unrelated word is coined. For example, when men in France wanted to become [[Midwife|midwives]], which up until then was an exclusively female occupation, they chose not to adapt the existing term {{lang|fr|sage-femme}} ('wise woman'), and instead coined {{lang|fr|maïeuticien}}.

In German, feminine job titles are usually created by adding -''in'' to the grammatically masculine word in question. For example, the general grammatically masculine term for train driver is {{lang|de|Lokführer}} (singular or plural). This yields the feminine form {{lang|de|Lokführerin}} (plural: {{lang|de|Lokführerinnen}}). One convention in German for gender-neutral language is adding a [[gender star]], e.g. "{{lang|de|Lokführer*innen}}", which is used to refer to train drivers of all genders. For job listings, if the [[generic he|generic masculine form]] is used, the [[Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache]] recommends adding an explanatory note "(männlich/weiblich/divers)" or "(m/w/d)", indicating the role is open to persons of all genders.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gfds.de/standpunkt-der-gfds-zu-einer-geschlechtergerechten-sprache/#Klammerzusatz |title=Leitlinien der GFDS zu den Möglichkeiten des Genderings |work=[[Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache]] |access-date=6 September 2024 |date=August 2020 |quote=Wird ein generisches Maskulinum verwendet, kann durch einen sich anschließenden Zusatz in Klammern deutlich gemacht werden, welche Geschlechter gemeint sind. Dies eignet sich besonders in Stellenanzeigen, weniger jedoch im Fließtext: Statt: ''Wir suchen Maler''. Besser so: ''Wir suchen Maler (m/w/d[ivers, Anm. d. Verf.])''.}}</ref> 

In contrast, the German military does not have separate gendered [[Military rank|ranks]]. Even though the [[Grammatical gender in German#Professions|grammatically female form]] of ''Arzt'' is ''Ärztin'', the correct form of address for a female [[Stabsarzt|medical officer]] is "''Frau Stabsarzt''" and not "''Frau Stabsärztin''".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lr-online.de/nachrichten/aerztin-aus-doberlug-kirchhain-im-bundeswehreinsatz-in-kundus-33483494.html |title= Ärztin aus Doberlug-Kirchhain im Bundeswehreinsatz in Kundus |date=30 October 2003 |website=[[Lausitzer Rundschau]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article189989647/Genderdebatte-Wann-gibt-s-die-Hauptfrau-bei-der-Bundeswehr.html |title=Wird „Frau Hauptmann“ zur „Hauptmännin“ oder „Hauptfrau“? |date=March 8, 2019 |first=Gerhard |last=Hegmann |work=[[Die Welt]] |accessdate=February 12, 2021 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Epicene]]
* [[Gender role]]
* [[Gender-neutral language]]
* [[Gender neutrality in English]]
* [[Third-person pronoun]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080308181250/http://www.univ.trieste.it/~didactas/pub/unipd/pres%20Evora.doc Gender-Unmarked and Gender-Marked Job Title Usage] (DOC file)

{{Gender studies}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gender-Specific Job Title}}
[[Category:Gender-neutral language|Job titles]]
[[Category:Gendered occupations]]