As far as I am aware 'he' has two meanings in common parlance, one gender neutral and one specifically referring to males. 'she' on the other hand has only one meaning, it always specifically refers to females. When people use 'she' when not referring to a woman this always strikes me as slightly weird, just like it always strikes me as slightly weird when I read old quotes that specifically refer to men, e.g.:
"Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it." -- Rene Decartes
>As far as I am aware 'he' has two meanings in common parlance, one gender neutral and one specifically referring to males.
That works, if you were educated before 1960: "The use of he to refer to a person of unknown gender was prescribed by manuals of style and school textbooks from the early 18th century until around the 1960s" [1]
The thing is, you have read, most of your life, seeing male pronouns. I was a young teenage girl when I realised this and it made me feel left out, like I'd never be relevant. Acknowledging half the population is a good start - I like those programming books for example where Alice and Bob are equally represented.
"Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it." -- Rene Decartes