By Anusha Shankar
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion on Tuesday, Oct. 22, calling for the use of gender-inclusive language in the County Code, calling it a modernization effort to cater to a diverse population.
The Los Angeles County Code is a compilation of ordinances which have been codified for more than a century. Supervisor Lindsay Horvath noted in a motion that it includes gendered terms in some ordinances, referring to county officers and employees as “he” in several sections.
“While the county has become more diverse, inclusive, and equitable, the County Code contains a significant number of archaic, inappropriate references to gender and gendered terms,” Horvath said.
“Language written in 1942 ‘constructs gender’ as ‘the masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter genders.”‘
She stressed that the board was the current caretaker of the County Code and it was responsible for modernizing and bringing the code up to date.
The other supervisors agreed with Horvath, with Supervisor Holly Mitchell stressing that “words really do matter.”
Gender-inclusive language is already a part of drafting ordinances, but the County Code remains unchanged, according to the motion.
Under the motion, county attorneys were directed to use gender-inclusive language in all county codes moving forward.
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The attorneys were also asked to report back on strategies to modernize the County Code overall, excluding the County Charter.