The Secretary-General shall bring to the attention of the Assembly any matter which in his opinion may affect the interests of the members.
Does "his" in this sentence mean MEN or does it also include WOMEN?
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3It depends on whether the Secretary-General is a man or a woman. The possessive pronoun should reflect that.– fevDec 6, 2022 at 18:52
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3Where is it from? Is it a line from a textbook (or like), or from an original document drafted many years ago (like the constitution, etc.)? I'd say that it depends on the context; if the former, I would assume that it includes both, but if the latter the original meaning would likely have only referred to men, especially in countries where women were not allowed to vote at the time that political documents were written.– HeartspringDec 6, 2022 at 19:23
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1Maybe you're asking if the language is now considered a sexist assumption. It is.– Yosef BaskinDec 6, 2022 at 19:24
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50 years ago "his" would almost always mean men, but in the above context it was modified to mean men or women, depending on which gender was present. More recently the use of "his" is discouraged, with a "neutral" term being preferred. But it's all still up in the air.– Hot LicksDec 6, 2022 at 21:48
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1I don't really understand what you're asking. Are you asking whether the rule authorizes a female Secretary-General to bring to the attention of the Assembly any matter which in her opinion may affect the interests of the members? Pretty obviously it does, right?– ChaimDec 6, 2022 at 22:08
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