Chairperson has, since the 1960s, come to be used widely as an alternative to either
chairman or
chairwoman. This change has sprung largely from a desire to avoid
chairman, which is felt by many to be inappropriate and even sexually discriminatory when applied to a woman. In some organizations, notably academic and, to a lesser extent, governmental,
chairperson has been adopted as the official term for anyone who fills the position in question. Some publishers and publications specify the use of
chairperson in their style guides.
Despite such widespread acceptance, some newspapers, press associations, and other news media do not use
chairperson at all, usually on the grounds that it is awkward and that
chairman is a well-established generic term covering both sexes. Some publications and organizations use the term
chair to designate the presiding officer, thus avoiding charges of both sexism and awkwardness:
Jim will be chair of the entertainment committee this year, and Jane will be chair next year. Chairperson is standard in all varieties of speech and writing. See also
-man,
-person,
-woman.