Gender identity can be highly personal subject, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for conversations about it in the workplace. Regardless of your office’s demographics, encouraging pronoun sharing can normalize this practice both in the corporate arena, and on a larger social scale. What’s more, pronoun sharing allows those who identify as transgender, gender non-binary, a-gender and/or gender-fluid to feel less isolated when sharing pronouns that fall outside of binary language at work.
While many transgender people use binary pronouns such as she/her or he/him, those who identify outside the binary are often misgendered in professional settings. Whether or not your office has any genderqueer or non-binary employees, making pronoun sharing a part of your office culture will set you up for success for all future interactions with gender non-conforming employees and clients. Just like you would not assume someone’s name, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, you cannot tell someone’s gender identity just by looking at them.
In today’s climate, there are countless ways to engage in these practices, some of which we have listed below. We hope you find these tips helpful, and we encourage you to reach out with any further questions.
Include pronouns in your email signature
Add pronouns to your LinkedIn bio
Share pronouns during initial interactions
