Does the term "Brotherhood" imply that all members are males?
My knee-jerk answer was that "brotherhood" doesn't (yet, at least) have this inclusiveness. But let's check a dictionary definition. Here's what American Heritage has:
- The state or relationship of being brothers.
- Fellowship.
- An association of men, such as a fraternity or union, united for common purposes.
- All the members of a profession or trade.
2 and 4 don't back up my initial idea.
Conclusion: you might not be able to count on everyone understanding your use of the word "brotherhood" as being gender-inclusive; so I suggest you either choose a different word, or make sure the inclusiveness you want is made clear in the context.
In my opinion brotherhood could refer to all, regardless of sex. In the example given, in English 'guys' can be used for females as well. Like how saying, 'man' or 'men', in reference to man-kind, does not only apply to those of the male gender.
(Though such seems not to apply the other way around, referring to a male as a 'female' that is. But I'm getting off topic -~-;)
So yes, you could use 'brotherhood' to refer to those not of male sex, 'most no-one would correct you in the very least, and most would not be confused by the usage of the word.
The phrase “brotherhood of man” has† frequently been used in terms in which it is clear that “man” signifies “mankind” or “humanity”, and thus that the word “brotherhood” includes both men and women.
An example of this is the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Inaugural Robert Burns Memorial Lecture, which was entitled:
“The Brotherhood of Man”
and alternatively expressed there as:
“Brotherhood, Tolerance, Coexistence among all Peoples”
Clearly Annan is including women “all Peoples” and likewise Robbie Burns’ in his poem:
“Man to Man, the world o’er, Shall brothers be for a’ that”
†And still is by some of us, at least on one side of the Atlantic.