I WOULD like to respond to Mrs B.J. Millner and her view that the use of the word chair (rather than chairman or chairwoman) is "sexist nonsense."

Surely the practice of defining a person's gender in relation to an occupation is the sexist nonsense, and simply redefines the old prejudices that some jobs are more suitable for men than women. The use of 'madam chairman' simply reinforces the thought that, although the chair of a meeting can be a woman, it somehow should be a man.

Mrs Millner also argues that we should "get back to the classroom." If she had recently been in a classroom, she would realise that gender-free job titles (such as police officer, rather than policeman) are being actively taught to children in an attempt to remove the gender bias of language and encourage the notion that all jobs are suitable for all people.

Mrs Millner encouraged us to "face reality" in using the word chairman. I am not a feminist and I concede that political correctness does occasionally go too far. However, in my opinion, using gender within job titles is now out-dated and bears no relation to the reality of the modern world.

L. Hodgson, Higher Lane, Rainford.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.