Please update your email signature to include your pronouns

[Rosecottage888]

The email states (at the bottom) that this is optional.

I knew it was coming, saw other threads from people who's organisations asked the same. I won't do it, just wanted a moan here.

Never heard of cohersive control or peer pressure? Never heard of being bypassed for promotion because your "face doesn't fit"? Just because they say its optional or voluntary doesnt mean it actually is, and its very naive to think so.

Well yes, that why I said if it's forced for you or anyone else

I'd reply "Yes" and leave it at that.

Thats the point. It is being forced. Underhand and silent, but not really optional. Try reading some old threads in this area as it will help you understand the undercurrents. Not everything is upfront and face value.

Not everything is upfront and face value

Quite.

wee/wee
me/wee
you/poo
me/poo
wee/poo
poo/you

Why do you need to know someone's sex to reply to a email from them?

I have colleagues all round the world. They do not all have photos on their work profiles. I don't have sufficient knowledge of every language used by employees to have an idea of whether many names are typically male or female, and even in my first language (English), I don't know about Sam or Chris or other names that can be either. I don't actually care if the person I'm contacting in Singapore or Tokoyo or even London is male or female - I only really care that they identify as someone who can physically check the network cable and reseat it in the server that isn't responding on that interface (or whatever I happen to be contacting them about.)

English isn't the first language of many of my colleagues, though many of them are totally bilingual- but they're not all fluent, and I don't want to confuse them any more than English grammar already does. If stating pronouns actually gave people more understanding of how pronouns worked, I'd probably be more sympathetic, but they seem more likely to show up that the person stating them doesn't know so much about it, else they'd probably have I/me/my/mine/myself (those are literally my pronouns.) If someone else is speaking to me, they're most likely going to use you/you/your/yours/yourself. They're only going to use she/her/her/hers/herself when I'm not there, but in any person, there are more pronouns that subject/object I'm English, so if they going to state them, they should list the lot, not do half a job.

We have some people (in the US) who state she/her/ella. Why stop at Spanish? I'd be going for French, Latin, German, Dutch, Welsh, Italian, Greek, Russian... do Chinese languages or Japanese use pronouns? Might as well be fully inclusive of all the languages people could speak about me in the third person.

And also the thing about women being more discrimated against if you make it clear you're a woman. Most people I work with know I'm a woman. It can only work in my favour in the male-dominated workplace I'm in if they're assuming I'm just another bloke, for the ones who don't know.

Yup, me too, I've worked with colleagues of many nationalities for decades, mostly via email. It's never been remotely a problem that I may not know their sex (or 'gender', come to that).

Err no!

The workplace is hard enough to navigate these days without all that shit.

I die a little inside when I see it on someone's signature. I judge them for it. If we focused a bit more on getting the job done and less on all this 'bring yourself to work' stuff life would be a lot easier.

@OldCrone I don't. I was responding to someone who said that all the emails with pronouns she had seen, matched their sex. I asked how she knew. She said she worked with them all in person, or they had photos on their emails. I was simply replying she was lucky, I don't have that. Bit of topic.

You judge someone based on an automated sig block? Maybe focus more on getting the job done and less on judging other people.

I love this too and lol every time!😂

He said that in conversations with transgender staff, they said they did not want this type of accommodation.
I found this bit more interesting.

Yes, I do actually. People can put whatever they want on their email in the same way I can think whatever I like about them.

See pronoun on email signature and make judgement = 2 seconds wasted

Companies championing pronouns, sending emails, updating blogs, intranet pages, websites, tweeting, updating their Instagram and Facebook pages and staff updating their email signatures and attending workshops to discuss it all = slightly more than 2 seconds wasted.

I know who needs to be concentrating on getting the job done and it's not me, funnily enough.

Seems your company seems D&I very seriously, I presume they champion other minorities the same way? Or perhaps you see that as a waste of time too?

If forced I think I will put he/him even though I am female and a woman. I work in a very male dominated field and am the only woman for miles. I don't think they'd have the balls to say anything.

Yes, lucky me!

@Oblahdeeoblahdoe I'm so glad it's not just me

Great post.
All this time wasted but are they devoting the same resources to accessibility for people with reduced mobility or making their documents available in braille etc?

I work for a large well known. We have been encouraged to add ours but in the main part people are not doing so, including my gay colleagues.

the only time I see it is in the signatures of the 20 something new grads who are either woke or too scared not to follow the request.

on the private HR info I put that I am adult human female and am gender critical. Fuck them.

Why stop at Spanish? I'd be going for French, Latin, German, Dutch, Welsh, Italian, Greek, Russian... do Chinese languages or Japanese use pronouns?

Korean has different pronouns for formal and informal use, depending on the relative social standing of the speaker and listener. That’s ALL pronouns, not just second person like e.g. French. So that could be ’fun’, demanding formal pronoun use even if the person reading your email is senior to you (standing and/or age).

That sounds great,but I don't think our email system would cope (it can be very Anglo-centric, despite us being global.) I don't think we have an office in Seoul. Might check when I'm back at work...

I feel a little pop of disappointment when I see they've been added to someone's footer, especially when it's a woman I previously respected

This ^^ Particularly colleagues who are feminists.

Yeah that boggled me too.

Maybe it's my privilege showing, being able to respond to an email on topic?