We were interested to note this story concerning the Crime and Misconduct and Other Legislation Amendment Bill currently passing through the legislature in Queensland, Australia.
Not the usual ground covered by New Humanist, of course, but our interest relates to a section of the bill which would change the job title of the head of the state's Crime and Misconduct Commission from "chairperson" to "chairman".
Here's the change in all its legislative glory:
35 Amendment of s 224 (Qualifications for appointment as the chairperson)
(1) Section 224, heading, ‘as the chairperson’—omit, insert—
chairman and deputy chairman
(2) Section 224, ‘chairperson if’—omit, insert—chairman or deputy chairman if
Unsurprisingly, the proposed amendment has raised eyebrows among Australian feminists, who have pointed out that it flies in the face of decades of measure to eliminate legal inequality and gender imbalance within leading professions.
