New York Bans ‘Gendered Language’ In New ‘Salespeople’ Law

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill Thursday that will ban the word “salesman” and other instances of “gendered language” in certain New York statutes.

Senate Bill 536 replaces instances of the word “salesman” with the word “salespeople” and replaces instances of the pronouns “his” or “her” with “their” in New York legislation.

“This legislation amends Real Property Tax Law Article 12-a to change the word salesman to salesperson,” the bill reads. “Further this legislation removes gendered language from the Article by removing references to ‘his or her’ in favor of ‘their,’ changes ‘himself’ to ‘themselves,’ as well as appropriate changes to variations of these words.”

New York State Senator Anna M. Kaplan, who co-sponsored the bill, celebrated the law for breaking down barriers. (RELATED: Former Superstar NBA Player Dwyane Wade Files Petition To Change His Child’s Name, Gender)

“Jobs have no gender, but unfortunately, many of our State’s laws still use gendered language when discussing professions that are practiced by people of all genders,” Kaplan said. “It’s important that we update these antiquated sections of the law to reflect our New York values and send a message that everyone, regardless of gender, should be able to pursue their passions.”

New York Law Updated to Reflect the Fact that Not All Real Estate Salespeople are Men – The New York State Senate https://t.co/lb0p22VsVe

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New York State Assembly member Danny O’Donnell, who sponsored the bill with Kaplan, said, “People of all professions deserve to feel valued, but gendered language in our real property law fails to adequately recognize the contributions of women and non-binary New Yorkers.”