Have you noticed a strange pattern when people talk. When someone refer to people they don't know they tend to default to their own gender, unless there is a cultural clue, in which they then default to that clue.

I find it a interesting quirk of human behavior. It not very noticeable unless you listen for it, but once you do, it is a very noticeable during a conference with a high rate of speakers that do not share your own gender.