Please update your email signature to include your pronouns

We had this at my workplace. Maybe maximum of 10% of people did it.

None of the senior staff did it. Too well informed, I like to think.

My employer is heading this way and much as I will want to tell them its a lot of rubbish, I do5n need the stress of rocking the boat at the moment. So can someone tell me if I legally have to do this or some pretty obvious terms I can pit which clearly but professionally show my views. I did like the crone/hag one though!

I agree @Ereshkigalangcleg peeps is really annoying but otherwise I like what he has to says.

I have a colleague whose email pronouns are she/they/them -
I've no idea how to address them. Or her.

Ask your employers whether they have fully thought this through and taken advice from the Information Commissioner,, citing the information in @miri1985's post.

We've been told it's optional, I've opted out. I do worry that it might be enforced one day. I work in the NHS so who knows?

Apart from the teeth-grindingly twee language (shuddering at "peeps"), I think I like you, Ben Chestnut:

Chestnut went on: “First, there is a very tiny number of peeps at Mailchimp who would consider themselves transgender. Forcing (either with orders, or through guilt) approximately 1,390 other peeps to adopt a new communication paradigm that humanity has never had to use in our 300k year existence, and in our 150k years of spoken language, in order to make things slightly more comfortable for an extremely small group of peeps is completely illogical.”

He lamented the growing politicisation of the workplace, an issue that has confronted other tech chiefs. “I am finding that peeps are no longer motivated by meaningful work — they are motivated to make political statements. They are using company time and company resources to win a game, against their opponents, in a game that is raging in their minds and on social media."

“Coercing peeps into proclaiming their pronouns is not about creating an inclusive, creative, productive work environment. It’s becoming a political statement."

I wonder what happens with gender fluid people. If they send an email with one set of pronouns on one day and then receive a reply to that email when they are using a different set of pronouns, does seeing the pronouns in their original message trigger them?

Just came across this in the Times "Pronoun choice is harmful, says tech billionaire Ben Chestnut"

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/62d14612-5174-11ed-af60-3f894fe60060?shareToken=3cb94c9b0f8e5eaca4bc94a3229fc81b

I've refused to do this for years. I haven't been sacked yet. I dont think they dare as I'm active in the union. I'm NHS.
I think they just ignore me now.

My name indicates my sex I don’t need to add to that

How would you tell their pronoun. complies with their sex just from their email address or first name? My name can be used by either sex. How can you tell?

Mainly because colleagues are not faceless names on an email list, but real people you meet in real life. Plus we have photos on our email address list if you haven't met them

If anybody from HR should ever ask me to do that I'll tell them I consider it once they get the spelling and pronunciation of my name, both first and last, right more often than they get it wrong.

That doesn't worry me, I will not do it. If they want to sack me for it then let's see what happens.

There’s no way I’d do this

@SimpleName83 that's how I feel. My name is pretty uni sex and I don't mind people not knowing.

I am often addressed as a man and I'm okay with that.

I've been ignoring the email signature option for years. If it's forced I will object

I’m a member of our D&I team and this was raised about a year ago. My manager/the D&I team lead asked me what I thought and I said “don’t like it, this is a an increasingly political issue and I come from a part of the country where we try hard not to bring politics into work- enforced pronouns goes completely against that”. Manager basically said she agreed entirely and it was introduced on a voluntary basis. I noticed one member of staff who changed hers to “she/her”, everyone else just sort of…ignored it? I had a few people raise it with me and as soon as I indicated I was not on board with pronouns they were suddenly very open and honest with the fact they thought it was an absolute nonsense.

Basically just don’t change them. You might be surprised to see how low the take up is.

I left him unenlightened. It seemed a good plan

This.

I've always been pretty sure of myself as being a heterosexual woman, but in one phase when I was younger I had a pixie hair cut and slender athletic figure, and wore fairly androgynous clothing. I never gave a monkeys if I were misgendered as I know who I am. Why should I be required to wear a badge to tell everyone who/what I am? Fine that some people do not want to be misgendered and want to state pronouns, but surely also fine if people don't want to.

Mic drop! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

My last organisation tried this.

When pushed, I replied that a) my sexuality was none of the company's concern and b) since I don't take offence at whatever pronoun is used (or not), there was no reason for me to be specific.

I suggested it was intruding on my legal right to a private life.

That was the end of the conversation.

I was asked by a senior male at work, why I hadn't done this, so I suggested "hag/crone" and he accused me of being uncooperative.
I wish I had the nerve to actually do it!

I have a neutral name. I had a client ask me after a couple of months of remote collaboration, ‘Are you a girl Pauli or a boy Pauli, by the way?’ Then he sent me a rambling anecdote about a childhood visit to Wales, and several photos of his dog.

I left him unenlightened. It seemed a good plan.

I wouldn't assume anything these days. There's probably a Mrs with he/him out there somewhere.

We/us/ours.

I feel the same. I feel slightly embarrassed when I see them added to the email. Like a veneer has fallen off and you have to reassess in your mind. Recategorised as a bit less bright and bold.