Democrats on Saturday adopted new language to allow gender self-identification in the party’s rules and charter.
The move came during the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) summer meeting in Chicago and adds language inclusive to gender nonbinary individuals. Under the new rules and charter, DNC committees that were once required to be divided equally among women and men must now account for members who don’t identify with either gender, CNN reported.
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New and standing committees “shall be as equally divided as practicable between men and women (determined by gender self-identification) meaning that the variance between men and women in the group cannot exceed one (1),” the rule states according to CNN.
DNC Chairman Tom Perez told CNN in a statement that the rule change was meant to enforce a greater aura of inclusiveness within the Democratic Party.
“At the root of our diverse party is a commitment to inclusion and opportunity,” Perez told CNN.
“By adopting this amendment, the Democratic National Committee is ensuring every Democrat feels welcome and embraced for who they are. This action reaffirms our solidarity with the LGBTQ community and challenges governments, employers, and organizations across the country to do the same.”
DNC Secretary Jason Rae, who co-authored the rule change, added to CNN that the expanded language would ensure that nonbinary individuals could participate fully in the Democratic Party.
“I think it’s not only significant for the DNC, but I think it’s significant for the LGBT community,” Rae said. “The language that was adopted expands our definition of gender — it includes making sure that we can have gender nonbinary individuals participating fully in our process.”
The Democratic Party met in Chicago this weekend to discuss and vote on a number of longstanding proposed rule changes, including a major change to the superdelegate system that reduces the influence of superdelegates in choosing the party’s nominee for president.