Search
Close this search box.

Many legal contracts are gender-biased

Genie AI, the UK’s largest open source legal template library, has recently discovered that half of contracts between 2017-2022 still use gendered terms. With DEI initiatives being hugely important within organisations, gender biases in any capacity can reflect poorly and hinder these goals. Genie AI is leading the change to a more inclusive norm with the launch of 1,500 gender-neutral contract templates.

Businesses are increasingly focused on improving their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion support. However, all too often they fall at the first hurdle through the use of gendered terms within contracts. That’s according to recent data, which found that 63% of contracts between 2017-2022* still use gendered terms.

From simple pronouns such as ‘he’ or ‘his’ to more formal titles like ‘Salesman’ or ‘Chairman’, gendered terminology is rife within legal contracts. For example, contracts are 88% more likely to reference ‘himself’ rather than ‘herself’, and ‘Chairman’ is 250x more likely to be referenced in contracts than ‘Chairwoman’.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, with usage of ‘salesperson’ more than twice as common as ‘salesman’ or ‘saleswoman’. Usage of ‘chair’ or ‘chairperson’ has also doubled in the past five years.

Updating a contract’s language in accordance with the recipient’s gender via a legal team can be a costly process, so many just keep gendered language regardless of the recipient’s gender. As the first touchpoint for a new starter, this can reflect poorly on the company and its DEI aims.

Rafie Faruq, Genie AI CEO, commented “Bias and prejudice begins in the background – it doesn’t have to be a blatant act, but is embedded within the very fabric of our language. By stamping that out of legal contracts, we aim to to progress the legal industry into a fairer and more accessible future.

So far, court interpretation of gender neutral pronouns seem encouraging, therefore we will continue to take bold steps to transform the way law is done, whether that’s ensuring our contracts are gender neutral or open sourcing our template library.”

*Genie AI, full data analysis available here

    Read more

    Latest News

    Read More

    Rise in recruitment fraud must urgently be checked

    28 March 2024

    Newsletter

    Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

    Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

    Latest HR Jobs

    University of Cambridge – Judge Business SchoolSalary: £32,332 to £38,205 pa, pro rata

    University of Cambridge – Judge Business SchoolSalary: £29,605 to £33,966 pa, pro rata

    University of Oxford – Blavatnik School of GovernmentSalary: Grade 5: £28,759 – £33,966 per annum (with a discretionary range to £37,099)

    Software Development Director (Exec Team Seat). Remote Working with Ellesmere Port Office-Based Minimum 1 Day Per Week. + Contribution towards membership fees. £120,000 – £140,000

    Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

    Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE