Population:
- male is 100
- female is 90
The population of males is higher than their "gender counterpart"
Or
The population of males is higher than their "female counterpart"
Let's say you are trying your best to find the synonym of "female", so you used the bold words above.
Which of the two is the correct English words that is equivalent to the word female?
Best Answer
I believe neither of those two sentences uses the word "counterpart" correctly. The word "counterpart" does not refer to opposites. Let me give you an example. "The generals met with their counterparts from the enemy army to discuss terms of surrender." In other words, the generals are meeting with the enemy generals. They are alike instead of opposite. They are doing the same kind of job. Here's another example. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, met with his counterpart, the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. They both hold a similar job, so they are counterparts, even though one is male and one is female.
It would be more correct to write:
The male population is higher than that of the opposite gender.
Or just:
The male population is higher than the female population.