Quite a few other languages have that problem--Spanish and German, for instance. Slavic languages also gender verbs, I've learned, as do Semitic languages.

This causes problems for translators, and several have contacted me to ask me questions about my intentions, and I've generally said that if possible, when in doubt please default to feminine forms.

Sometimes translators do not contact me to ask, they just decide what they think will be best. I generally assume they know their business, but I must admit this is the second time I've heard about a particular translation choice that I found...questionable.

I suspect both Spanish and French translators faced very similar problems (both Romance languages after all) and yet the Spanish translator managed to use default feminine. (The less said about the Italian translation on that score, the better, or so I hear. I do not read Italian and do not have any members of my household who do, unlike Spanish.)

And it's out of my hands. [indiscreet, somewhat angry couple of sentences redacted]