Berkeley replaces gendered terms in municipal code

In an effort to be more inclusive, the Berkeley City Council adopted an ordinance Tuesday to replace gendered language in the city’s municipal code with neutral terms.

Personal pronouns like “she,” “he,” “her” and “him” will change to “they” and “them.”

“Fireman” or “firewoman” will become “firefighter.”

“Manpower” will be eschewed for “human effort” or “workforce,” while “maintenance hole” will replace “manhole.”

In total, more than two dozen commonly used terms will be changed in the city code after the measure unanimously passed.

“Genderneutral language creates a lot of room to acknowledge that it’s not just men running the country,” said council member Rigel Robinson, who sponsored the ordinance.

Robinson submitted a request in March to the city manager for a plan to adjust Berkeley’s code to reflect genderneutral language and add space on city forms for preferred pronouns. The council voted to approve the city manager’s draft to amend the code, while the process for updating forms is still ongoing, Robinson said.

Critics have suggested the council should spend time on other things, Robinson said, but he pointed to the other items he considered important on Tuesday’s agenda, which included an ordinance to make Berkeley the first city in the country to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new buildings.

“We are capable of doing more than one thing at a time,” Robinson said. “We’re not just looking at symbolic things.”

The measure follows a move in February that allowed city employees to opt for preferred pronouns on their name badges.

The change in updating city forms will cost $600, officials said.

A list of the words to be changed will be posted at public libraries and the council chambers within 15 days of adoption. The ordinance does not include a timeline for when the change must happen.

Robinson, 23, was elected in November as the youngest city council member in Berkeley history. He graduated from UC Berkeley last year and credits his college experience with broadening his perspective on gender issues.

“Awareness and issues of gender identity are often particularly visible on college campuses, but it’s important that it doesn’t stay there,” Robinson said. “I’m a cisgender heterosexual male — in many ways these issues don’t affect me. I’ve gotten to know so many people for whom these issues are important, largely through the campus community.”