Council purges ‘women’ and ‘mothers’ from pregnancy policy

Any reference to women or mothers has been removed from a local council document on pregnancy and maternity.

In the name of ‘inclusivity’, Somerset Council has ditched feminine nouns and pronouns for gender-neutral terms throughout its New and Expectant Parents Policy.

Earlier this year, the General Medical Council was accused of denying the “existence of women” after it similarly removed sex-based language from its guidance for employees on maternity and menopause.

Language

Approved by Somerset Council on 10 October, the policy applies to “all employees who are pregnant, who have given birth in the last 6 months, and those breastfeeding, this includes transgender and non-binary people”.

Among other measures, it commits to provide “a place for pregnant and breastfeeding parents to rest”, and “where practicable, provide a private room for nursing parents to express and store breast milk”.

Managers are to “identify the risks to pregnant workers, from work activities” and to inform “all relevant employees of child-bearing age” of these risks “for each individual new or expectant parent”.

‘Not neutral’

A Somerset Council spokesperson claimed: “Somerset Council is an inclusive organisation. The move to gender-neutral language in our policies highlights our commitment to inclusivity.”

However, Claire Loneragan of the Women’s Rights Network said: “Replacing the word ‘mother’ with ‘parent’ is not neutral. It changes the scope of the policy to include men.”

She also said that the document effectively “writes women out of our own life experiences”.