A campaign to introduce the gender neutral term “chair” instead of “chairman” has won regional press support.
The Suffolk branch of women’s rights organisation the Fawcett Society has urged public bodies to use “chair” to refer to people presiding over meetings, a plea it has also extended to the press.
Now Barry Peters, left, communities content editor at 24 Johnston Press titles across the East of England, has announced in a Tweet that he is “looking at introducing chair as a matter of style guidance.”
Eleanor Rehahn, coordinator of the Fawcett Society in suffolk, praised Barry’s consideration of what she believes would be a “real trailblazing move”.
She told HTFP: “The term ‘chairman’ is loaded with gender expectations. The public perception of a chairman is a man.
“I bet if you asked a random group of people to draw their image of a ‘chairman’ they would all draw a white man of a certain age.
“There is massive under representation of women in positions of power and authority and while the terminology still refers to these roles as the preserve of men, this presents huge barriers to women themselves, but also to perceptions in society as a whole.
“I firmly believe that institutions should lead as well as follow public opinion. The press has a huge responsibility in relation to this and leads and follows all the time.”
The society’s campaign has also won the backing of Suffolk County Council leader Colin Noble, who told Eleanor he would discuss a change in the authority’s terminology with its constitutional reform working party.
She added: “If newspapers started using the term ‘chair’ instead of ‘chairman’, they could have a hugely influential role in normalising the use of the term and shifting public opinion.
“People are so resistant to change but if they see the word being used more regularly then I believe perceptions can change.”
Barry has yet to respond to HTFP’s request for a further comment on the issue.
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Oh for goodness sake, is this STILL going on. The battle was lost a long time ago, and it only goes on in newspapers. ‘Chair’ is not ‘gender neutral’ at all: it is just wrong, and refers to a piece of furniture. But it has been used like this for so long, the wider world has made the decision for us. I used to prefer the genuinely gender-specific ‘chairman’ or ‘chairwoman’, but even that caused trouble. Times change, and although I was in the fusty old fashioned camp, even I can see that that ship has sailed. Move on.
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Personally, I have no issue with the name chairman, providing that person is a man. However, by saying Fred/Freda Bloggs, who chairs the club (chaired the meeting), gets over the problem nicely in my opinion without resorting to the term “chair”.
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Shouldn’t the wishes of the individual also be taken into consideration? My late aunt, Betty Whitton, resented being described as that piece of furniture and continued to use the title chairman when occupying the post on Glinton Parish Council. Another aunt was proud to be known as ‘Miss’ because it showed she “belonged to no man”, whereas a friend, now divorced, preferred ‘Ms’ to distance herself from an unhappy marriage. It’s simple enough to say that someone took the chair’, ‘chaired the meeting’ or was ‘in the chair’ but, as a point of style, The Gosport Globe will continue to ask how someone wants to be addressed.
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What’s he going to do about human?
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“Trailblazing move……?”….anally retentive more like…
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Absolutely agree with Cast Aside. Calling a person a ‘chair’ still sounds plain daft.
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I remember being told on my first weekly that a female mayor should still be addressed as Mr Mayor. Just one little quirk of huperson nature.
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And Britain’s slide into a neutral, humourless, genderless, grey politically correct world continues space.
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Sorry. Small keys on my tablet. For space read apace. Thank you.
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PC nonsense. One would have hoped from something better from a journalist, but obviously times have changed since I worked in local newspapers. Sadly I guess I would no longer fit in. What about mankind, Barry? Peoplekind, personskind?
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Small-minded, petty and – thank you, snapper – anally retentive hog swill from men and women who have nothing better to do with their lives. If the person chairing a meeting is a man, he is a chairman. If she is a woman, she is a chairwoman.
How difficult is that?
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If Eleanor Rehahn could provide some hard facts around the issue, then everyone should considered her proposal, however, an ‘I bet’ is no basis for making changes to anything.
She also states that “there is massive under representation of women in positions of power”, so ‘I bet’ that the majority of women feel they are able to challenge gender perceptions more positively when they are introduced as chairman rather than chair.
I can’t prove it but I think it holds as much merit for discussion without the facts!
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Welcome to the 1970s
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Look at all the real problems faced by women today. I imagine they’ll be chuffed the Fawcett Society is putting all that energy into erasing just three letters from a common word.
Never mind all the grave problems faced by working-class lone parents (as my mother was). Nor the very real problem of child poverty. Or obscene uni fees that prevent poor bright kids from getting on in life.
No, while the language fascists are at it why don’t they fight for the right of ombudsmen to known an ombuds and spokesmen to be called spokes.
What a load of middle-class turnips.
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No doubt the instruction to us “chair” will be accompanies by instruction to use “they” and “their” instead of “he/sh”e and “his/her”; ought not insistence on the use of an inanimate chair demand for full political correctness the use of “it” and “its”?
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Sorry about careless typo. Read “will be accompanied”
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The use of words to subliminally subvert our view of the world is all around us.
When I look at the picture of Barry Peters – for some strange reason I am thinking of a tasty seaside shellfish snack? What’s that all about?
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The Fawcett Society is a respected group that has been doing excellent campaigning on women’s rights for more than a century and I don’t think its request is at all wrong.
All right there are those to whom the use of the term “chair” is like waving a red rag to a bull, but does it really matter?
I was brought up at a time when all meetings had a chairman, regardless of gender, but the world has moved on. As has been rightly pointed out, there are far worse things happening in the world to get worked up over than the title of somebody who presides over a meeting.
Years down the line, chair will become accepted and there is little that journalistic dinosaurs – myself included – can do about it. I guess that’s what they call progress.
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Simply write chairman or chairwoman. What’s wrong with that? Lots better than “chair.” Total nonsense and inaccurate tosh.
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We can pontificate until the cows come home buy – rightly or wrongly – the use of “chair” is here to stay, I’m sorry to say.
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Many blue chip companies ignore gender neutral titles and use gender specific chairman and chairwoman in their annual reports.
But, as usual in style debates, there are exceptions.
Karren Brady, winner of Woman of the Year, Business Woman of the Year and a feted breaker of glass ceilings, has two job major titles.
At West Ham United she is deputy chairman.
At Mentore, set up to support more aspiring businesswomen overcome glass ceilings, she is chairman.
Meanwhile, there are still lots of two-legged chairs of both sexes in local councils.
What would the late, great newspaper style expert Keith Waterhouse have ruled?
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As a female I would rather be called a chairman than `chair’ because I am not an inanimate object aka “a thing”. I can’t see a problem with the use of gender specific chairwoman either when applicable. Moving with the times, my eye, more like appeasing the PC brigade.
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Sudden afterthought (anyone can accidentally get a word wrong -see my earlier post): is there a secret fear by some ladies of being seen in print not as a chairwoman but as a charwoman?
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Yawn…
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Just use gender specific chairman or chairwoman. If it ain’t broke…
In my 43 years as a journalist, the last 15 as editor until I was sent to the warehouse of redundancy victims. I would never allow anyone heading any body to be referred to as a piece of furniture. And I ain’t gonna start now
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A chair is an inanimate object! It’s taken years to persuade the general public that doctors, solicitors and editors can be male or female and they even accept that chairman can be too without any so-called PC changes. It’s attitudes we have to continue to work on if need be, not names.
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Hold the line. Chairs and spokespersons are taking over.
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“Small-minded, petty and anally retentive hog swill” wrote Echo and the Bunnymen (great name) above. Sadly that pretty much describes ‘local’ newspapers these days. Try to connect with the public on real concerns that really matter, eh?
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