I will admit that I've never really cared enough to keep track of the
apparent gender of the authors I read. I was in high school, back in the 1960s, and a big fan of Andre Norton when I found out that "he" was a "she." It surprised me a bit, but didn't shock me or keep me from reading more of her stories.
Spoiler:
And I will admit that I never considered
this to be a reference book!