BOSTON — There will be no more chairmen of Massachusetts House and Senate committees. Instead, they will be called “chairs.”
When the state House and Senate adopted their rules this week, both bodies updated language to make it more gender neutral.
Rep. William Galvin, D-Canton, who led the committee that revised the House rules, said the goal was to make language more “gender neutral and gender inclusive.”
In the House version of the rules, House members and leaders are now referred to as “they” or “them” rather than “he” or “him.” A reference to the governor now refers to “Their Excellency the Governor” rather than “His Excellency,” even though the current occupant of the office is male.
Both the House and the Senate rules now refer to heads of committees as “chair” rather than “chairman.”
As the Senate debated its rules Thursday, Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, referred to members giving “inaugural speeches,” rather than the traditional “maiden speech,” which has gendered connotations.
The changes come amid an influx of new female lawmakers and amid a national movement to recognize the inequities women face in the workplace.
Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, has been careful in referring to herself as a “first-year” representative rather than the traditional “freshman.” Sabadosa called the shift in the rules a “small but encouraging step” in enhancing legislative diversity.
“One of the things we’re working towards is having a more diverse body, and language matters,” Sabadosa said. “To have the bodies feel welcoming to people who are not men is a nice first step.”