Performance, Governance and Audit Committee - 21 July 2022
Agenda Item 8 – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Update – Annual Review
Recommended that the Council’s constitution be updated to reflect gender neutral terms rather than him / chairman from the options as set out in section 3.5 this report (see extract below), and member salutations are removed as standard practice.
3.5 The Council’s constitution and current practices use the term ‘chairman’ and ‘him’. However, the Association of Democratic Officers confirm it is best practice to move away from gender specific titles and this would also be in keeping with the EDI policy. Many Councils have already adopted this working practice. This report recommends removing the word "Chairman" and replacing it with "Chair" or "Chairperson" and also ensuring the use of his/her, s/he, or better still non-binary language: “their/them/they” as appropriate, accepting that an individual may refer to themselves or want to be addressed as “Chairman” or “Chairwoman” or other term, if they so wished.
Minutes:
Councillor W Stamp, Chairman of the Performance, Governance and Audit Committee presented the following recommendation coming forward to the Council from her Committee:
Agenda Item 8 – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Update – Annual Review
Recommended that the Council’s constitution be updated to reflect gender neutral terms rather than him / chairman from the options as set out in section 3.5 this report (see extract below), and member salutations are removed as standard practice.
3.5 The Council’s constitution and current practices use the term ‘chairman’ and ‘him’. However, the Association of Democratic Officers confirm it is best practice to move away from gender specific titles and this would also be in keeping with the EDI policy. Many Councils have already adopted this working practice. This report recommends removing the word "Chairman" and replacing it with "Chair" or "Chairperson" and also ensuring the use of his/her, s/he, or better still non-binary language: “their/them/they” as appropriate, accepting that an individual may refer to themselves or want to be addressed as “Chairman” or “Chairwoman” or other term, if they so wished
Debate ensued on the virtues of updating references to the office of Chairman throughout the Constitution as distinct from salutations which were a matter for the individual, as the recommendation recognised.
The recommendation of the Committee was then formally put by its Chairman, Councillor W Stamp, and upon a vote being taken was agreed by the Council.
RESOLVED that the Council’s constitution be updated in relation to references to the office of Chairman to reflect gender neutral terms rather than him / chairman, and member salutations are removed as standard practice.