NY Pols Look To Update Real Estate Law With Gender-Neutral Terms

ALBANY, NY — The New York State Senate voted on Tuesday to change a nearly century-old section of real property law that uses gender-specific language to include the gender-neutral term of "salesperson."

A section of the state's real property law from 1927 regulating real estate brokerage and sales professions has 85 references to "salesmen," dozens of gendered pronouns such as "he," "him" and "his," and only includes two references to "salesperson," but does not reference "saleswomen," according to a news release from bill sponsor Sen. Anna M. Kaplan (D-North Hills).

The legislation changes all instances of the word "salesman" to "salesperson," removes gendered language from the article by removing references to "his or her" in favor of "their," and changes "himself" to "themselves."

Kaplan cited data from the New York State Association of Realtors that found 64 percent of the state's Realtors are women — meaning men are in the minority, yet state law only makes references to them in the statute but not women.

"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."

Assemblymember Danny O'Donnell (D, Morningside Heights) has introduced the legislation in the Assembly.

"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," O'Donnell said. "We want our workplaces to reflect the diversity of New York, and the best way to achieve that goal is by making sure all realtors feel that they belong and the profession is accessible."