WeirFoulds partner Raj Anand provided comment to Alice Chen of The Hill Times in an article published on April 21, 2021, on the need for widespread gender-neutral language in federal policy and legislation.
The federal justice department of Canada told The Hill Times that it has more recently been using ‘they’ as a singular gender-neutral pronoun on a piecemeal basis, but the gendered nature of the French language requires study, with a review currently underway.
Many diversity experts are also quoted in the article on the significant benefits that gender-neutral language and this type of inclusion can bring to organizations, from enhanced financial performance to improved employee engagement and innovation.
Raj points towards the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its emphasis on gender equality, noting that implementing gender-neutral language would also put into action the promise the Charter was designed to have.
Click here to read the full article in The Hill Times, “Time for widespread gender-neutral language in federal policy, legislation, say advocates”.