'gender-balanced' originates from the combination of 'gender' and 'balanced', where 'gender' refers to the state of being male or female, and 'balanced' means having equal weight or importance.

'gender' comes from the Latin word 'genus', meaning 'kind' or 'type', and 'balanced' comes from the Old French 'balancer', meaning 'to weigh'.

Initially, 'gender-balanced' referred to equal representation of genders in a specific context, and this meaning has remained consistent.