The Los Angeles City Council called on Friday, Feb. 10 for the drafting of an ordinance that would remove all references to gender from the city’s thick municipal code.
Mayor Karen Bass and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto became the first women to be elected to their respective positions in the November election. Yet sentences in Sections 8.27 and 11.39 of the city code presume that those positions are held by men.
City Council President Paul Krekorian’s motion cites at least 200 instances in the city code that presume the gender of city officials and members of the public is male.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, in remarks after the vote, called it a “giant first step” but “still woefully insufficient from the work that we need to lead in this city.”
The ordinance would remove gender references from the city code and replace them with the name of the office or title of the position.
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Krekorian’s motion also cites references to the “chairman” of respective council committees. “Such language is inaccurate,” the motion states.
However, Rodriguez noted, “When we talk about creating neutrality and an opportunity for everyone to be recognized for their contribution, it’s a very symbolic and important first step. But it’s the cultural change that we need to lead to end misogyny and sexism in the city of Los Angeles, that needs to be emulated here in local government and throughout every department in the city.”