Why do people call God the Father when he has no gender?

Answer 1

It was Jesus who taught us to call God "Father" - in fact he used the Aramaic word 'ABBA' which roughly translates to 'Daddy'.

In this, then, Jesus wanted to draw our attention to the intimate relationship that God wants with us. 'Daddy' was chosen rather than 'Mummy' simply because the Father figure of those times conjured up a particular picture - as one who loved a child and who was willing to give up their life for that child if necessary, but, unlike the traditional mother's role, was also the disciplinarian too, and, when necessary, would step in to keep that child on the straight and narrow, in love, rather than let them do exactly what they wanted.

Of course, as the questioner states, God is genderless. In fact both the Hebrew (ruac'h) and Greek (pneuma) for the Holy Spirit are both feminine nouns, confirming the masculinity and femininity of God. In the Methodist Communion Service the Eucharistic Prayer prays to God our Father and Mother.

With more single parents today and the so-called traditional roles of mothers and fathers blurred, it is better these days to think of God as a perfect 'parent' rather than a single sex mother ('Mummy') or father ('Daddy'), but how one achieves the required intimacy of 'Daddy' or 'Mummy' with a genderless expression is another matter, as there is no really adequate word in the English Language to reflect this intimacy. I guess, then, that 'Father' is here to stay, at least for a while.