Call Kevin Warsh the Fed 'chairman'
CNBC • • business
Key Points:
- The Federal Reserve website now refers to Kevin Warsh as "chairman," reversing the 12-year trend of his predecessors Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell using the gender-neutral title "chair."
- Historically, "chairman" was the exclusive term before Yellen's tenure, and while the Federal Reserve Act uses "chairman" and "vice chairman," no law mandates the title, leaving it to personal preference.
- The U.S. House of Representatives adopted gender-neutral language in 2021, replacing terms like "chairman" with "chair," but individual House and Senate websites still predominantly use "chairman," reflecting ongoing partisan debates over such language changes.
- Despite broader corporate moves toward gender-neutral titles, including a Bloomberg 2024 analysis showing increased usage among S&P 500 companies, many major banks continue to use "chairman," though some, like Citigroup, use "chair" regardless of the leader's gender.
- Alicia Syrett, founder of a network for chairs and directors, views Warsh's choice as a personal preference rather than a significant shift, emphasizing that title selection varies individually regardless of gender.