Aussie businesses urged to drop 'mother' and 'father' to be more inclusive

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• By Avi Yemini

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A government-funded LGBTQ lobby group is urging businesses to stop using the words “mother” and “father” in order to be more inclusive.

ACON, which provides advice to major corporations such as the ABC as well as to government bodies including the Prime Minister’s office, says “primary caregiver” and “secondary care giver” were more appropriate terms.

The recommendations were made in a training video the group produced for HR staff in government and corporate offices.

It said gendered terms used in office policies were non-inclusive and should be removed.

“When we continue to use terms that buy into that, such as 'maternity leave', 'paternity leave', 'mother', 'dads', all of these terms, that's reinforcing those gender norms,” the video stated.

“So using terms like 'primary caregivers', 'secondary caregiver', making sure we're not referring to partners using gender terms like 'mother', like 'dad', is really important.”

ACON, which stands for AIDS Council of NSW, receives $13m in government funding every year and collects more than $4m from organisations who sign up as members.

ACON provides advice to members as well as handing out awards to businesses that promote LGBTQ+ friendly policies and practices.

News of ACON’s latest workplace advice caused outrage on Sydney radio where 2GB host Ben Fordham mocked it as a 'crack pot idea'.

“If you're taking advice from this mob, you need a check-up,” he said.

“Pay them out of your own pocket. Because we don't consent to our money being spent on this crap.”

ACON described people who objected to their advice as “opponents of LGBTQ equality”, according to the Daily Mail.

“Our members strive to be inclusive of all employees and create inclusive workplaces for all Australians,” ACON said.