Hi sally. A sin? Definitely not. The reason gender mentions is an error is because it's actually illegal for a job spec to discriminate either way in terms of hiring. If you're getting false negatives with this rule, please let me know and I can revise it :)
"We are looking for smart men and women to join our team" isn't sexism. In fact, it may be the opposite - deliberately mentioning that the company welcomes women, which in your system would achieve the opposite effect.
"We don't believe in typical tech industry culture and strive to create friendly environments for both males and females." will also trip your filter. As an error to boot - not even a warning.
or perhaps even more benignly:
"We are an online retailer for women's fashion."
This isn't full of shit either, consider the following excerpts from real job postings:
"As a top ten defense contractor we take our responsibility very seriously, and we are privileged to support our customers and the men and women who get the job done."[1]
"Accenture is committed to providing veteran employment opportunities to our service men and women."[2]
"Shopbop is the premier online shopping destination for what’s new and what’s next in fashion and style, offering women around the world the best selection from both established and emerging designers."[3]
"We are an Equal Employment Opportunity/Drug-Free employer; we encourage veterans, minorities and women to apply for job vacancies."[4]
"The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply."[5]
"Since 1901, Our Enterprise customer who is a Retail giant has offered a wide variety of quality apparel, shoes and accessories for men, women and children at our stores across the country."[6]
I'm sorry, but keywording on generic nouns and pronouns is not at all a good idea.
In Germany it is quite common to have a phrase like this in job postings: Women preferred when equally qualified. ("Frauen werden bei gleicher Qualifikation bevorzugt")
The same goes for severely disabled person. ("Schwerbehinderte werden bei gleicher Qualifikation bevorzugt")
