What do we mean by a gender neutral decision statement?

A gender neutral decision statement is one where the gender of the complainant (or other relevant persons, as appropriate) is not referenced by either use of specific gender pronouns (she/her; he/him etc) or gendered language (sister, mother, wife, uncle).

When should you write a gender neutral decision statement?

The most common occasions on which you might need or want to avoid gender in your decision are:

1. where the PA is a child;
2. where the PA’s or someone else’s anonymity might be compromised if you don’t; or
3. where a PA tells us they don’t want to be gendered

(NOTE: this is not the same as when a PA tells us they want to be gendered in a particular way. In those cases, we should respect the title and pronouns the PA tells us.)

Identifying that a gender neutral decision statement may be needed

It is a good idea to explain to complainants and/or representatives how we usually refer to people in our decisions and ask if they are happy with this as part of your initial telephone call.

Where the complainant has not indicated a title as part of their complaint, this is particularly important to avoid misgendering, which could cause offence.

There may be cases where avoiding gendered language is not possible while also maintaining readability. One example might be where a complaint involves many people and you need to describe how they relate to each other. In these situations, the priority is ensuring the statement is clear and easy to read.

In such cases, it is important to consider if we should publish the decision. Especially if our reason for neutrality was a risk to anonymity.

How to write in a gender neutral way

The examples below are ways of writing to replace or avoid gender pronouns and gendered language.

a. Don’t use a title

Usually, we use Mr, Mrs, Ms, Mx etc followed by a single letter to identify people in our decision statements. If you are writing your decision statement in a gender-neutral way, you can instead:

• use a single letter, or two letters, e.g., C, CX;
• use a noun instead, e.g. the Complainant, the Occupant; or
• do a combination of the two, e.g., Child C, Person B.

b. Repeat the noun

Using a single letter rather than a name to refer to complainants, as we usually do, means it is less immediately obtrusive to repeat the letter instead of using a pronoun.

Examples:

“C is an adult with autism. In April 2020, the Council completed an assessment of C’s needs. It found C needed help to access the community and maintain a habitable home. Following the assessment, the Council arranged for a care worker to visit C three times a week. The care worker helped C with food shopping and keeping the house clean as well as with attending appointments at hospital and the GP.”

“C is a parent to Z, a child with a disability, and three other children. In March 2020, C applied to join the Council’s housing register. In the application, C said Z’s disability means Z needs a separate room. This is because Z needs a lot of special equipment.”

 c. Replace the noun

Where you would usually use gendered language to describe someone, consider if an alternative will convey the same meaning.

E.g., Do you need to say ‘brother’, or will ‘sibling’ work? Is it necessary to say ‘daughter’, or can you say ‘child’? Does the reader need to know C is Z’s mother, or is it more relevant that C is Z’s parent?

Instead of:

“Ms C complained that the Council failed to keep accurate records of her grandmother’s personal information.”

You could write:

“C complained on behalf of their grandparent, whom I will call D. C says the Council failed to keep accurate records of D’s personal information.”

d. Use they/them/theirs

Repeating the noun can be awkward, especially in long paragraphs. Sometimes, using a pronoun is the clearest and most useful way to write. We should use they/them/theirs when a pronoun is necessary in a gender neutral decision statement.

‘Themself’ and ‘themselves’ are both accepted forms of the reflexive pronoun when referring to a single person. We suggest using ‘themself’ as it makes it clearer to the reader you only mean one person.

Examples:

“C is a parent to Z, a child with a disability, and three other children. In March 2020, C applied to join the Council’s housing register. In the application, C said Z’s disability means they need an additional bedroom. This is because the special equipment Z needs to treat their condition means they can’t share a room with their siblings.”

“C complained the Council failed to properly consider the impact on their property before granting permission for a neighbour’s extension.”

“The Council says it had to deprive Z of their liberty because Z posed a danger to themself and others.”

e. Rephrase to avoid using a noun or pronoun

Sometimes a sentence will read the same without any pronoun. For example, the sentence:

“As a result, C says there was a delay getting the adaptations and support she needs to manage at home.”

could be rewritten:

“As a result, C says there was a delay getting the adaptations and support needed to manage at home.”

BUT, beware the passive! Making a sentence passive is the easiest way to rephrase a sentence to remove any pronouns. Use they/them if you can, and so keep the sentence active.