The Bank of England has set out plans to end the use of gendered language in policy documents.
They include ditching “chairman” in favour of “chair” and replacing “grandfathering” – a term related to exemptions granted under new rules or contract terms – with “conversion”.
There will also be changes in the way individuals are referred to where the pronouns “his” or “her” are currently used.
The plans were set out in an update by the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to its Senior Managers & Certification (SM&CR) documents.
They will result in one-off costs, though the PRA said that “these are not expected to be material”.
The PRA said: “The proposals in this consultation paper to remove gendered language in the SM&CR form part of the PRA’s commitment to encourage equality and diversity at regulated firms.”
It comes as the Bank faces pressure over the shortage of women at senior levels – which governor Mark Carney has admitted is “an issue”.
The Bank currently has just one female member, Silvana Tenreyro, on its rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), down from two earlier this year.
Nicky Morgan, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, wrote to the Treasury – which appoints MPC members – in October to express concern over the lack of diversity at the Bank.
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Figures released last month showed that the Bank of England, on average, pays women 24% less than men, a significantly bigger gender pay gap than the 9% disparity across the UK.
It said men and women were paid equally for doing the same jobs but the gap was created because men were disproportionately represented in the Bank’s higher echelons.
Source: Sky