Advice on how to navigate the woke at work

[BeverlyBrook]

Hi my company has 'gone woke'. Encouraged to put pronouns in email signature and we get emails on how great stonewall is.

So I don't get fired but can gently educate my colleagues to think for themselves on this, are there any resources I could sign post people to?

I have just not put pronouns in my signature and I never discuss this at work. But the young women I work with are falling for the 'just be kind' crap.

I have had a look through this section threads but couldn't find any beginner info, rather than full peaked. Thanks

Honestly I think the best thing to do with this nonsense at work is just ignore it. Don't do the pronoun thing. If anyone brings the subject up, make a non-committal hmm and change the subject. I don't think it's cowardly personally, I think it sends a stronger message to just refuse to engage in it at all. The whole thing will collapse at some point under its own ridiculousness I think. In the meantime I sign petitions and donate to court cases.

I wonder whether your HR department/CEO realises that if the company gets sued because Stonewall Law disadvantages women, LGB etc then it is the company that will be blamed for taking the advice (because they are grown ass adults) while Stonewall and their support dogs quietly fade into the background

Just noting that Denise Fahmy has recently won an ET because she was harassed at work for her 'gender critical' views and her employer failed to take the proper steps to protect her (Arts Council England).

I generally would steer well clear of all political issues at work, tbh, and that is the line I would take when it comes to things like pronouns. 'No, thank you' is best, decline to take part.

Any pressure, there are plenty of people who can help you, including lawyers.

Surely you can't be made to.put pronouns on email signature? They have to 'be kind' to you to?!
And surely if you don't specify anything about your pronouns, people can safely assume you use the standard, default / old fashioned ones?
If I was asked to do it, I would politely decline and explain as above.

Where I am it’s pronoun central and I just turn a blind eye. My teeth do itch with all the flipping posters on each floor announcing safe environments for Q (they use the awful bloody word) people. I don’t feel it’s a ‘safe environment’ for those of us who don’t subscribe to Q theory and find it bloody offensive.

I’m relatively new and this is recent. In previous years they celebrated disability, women, child, age… days and campaigns as well as LGB... Now it’s pure rainbow and trans initiatives/days/celebrations (I can see who is responsible for the push and wasn’t surprised when I met them). Sadly the staff who are loudly ‘celebrating’ this are white staff ‘of a certain age’ who seem to relish being ‘relevant/special’. I have noticed that only they wear the rainbow lanyards and have pronouns in their emails, everyone else just uses the plain grey ones.

And if I hear the word ‘diversity’ one more time (I hear it at least a million times a day - and it rarely means actual diversity) I will scream. I had to listen to a webcast today about D&I, and the utter word spaghetti, gobbledygook, misrepresentation and absolute way off the mark tosh spoken was mind blowing.

And we aren’t even flipping stonewalled!

I say, when any trans things come up

I don't know what it's got to do with being gay?
I don't like stereotyping, stereotyping is really bad. People should.be able to wear and do what they like without it having anything to do with if they're male or female.
What DOES feeling like a woman mean exactly?

You lost me at the word woke. Because it’s used as a slur by idiots who have not a single original thought in their heads.

You want to express your opinion more articulately, you seem to say, but why on Earth do you think your opinion matters when you can’t be bothered to either source your own links or come up with something more original than ‘woke’ in your complaint about the world?

It is alright to say "no, I don't understand why you would do that". It gives you the option to still respect a pronoun choice of someone you respect enough to do that for. Our language is our own. The minute we allow others to dictate what we say, we are living in a totalitarian regime. Not suggesting you say that to your company. But bear it in mind, when you politely refuse to express preferred pronouns. The law is on your side and so are 1000s of women.

@Tukmgru rude!!

When I was asked how I would wish to be identified, the answer they got, was not what they expected and they left me alone after that

My colleagues joined in 👍

What is a collection of gerbils called ? 😹😹👍

Sounds more like Repugs perpetuating the culture war I'm afraid... "red balloon"...?

What was your answer?

@titchy possibly a stupid question, but I thought only gender reassignment was a protected characteristic? Which, as I don't have, I would presume my 'gender' is not protected?

If that's right I would do as you say but without the pronouns! And if pushed say I identify as female.

At work, it's not your job to educate others in this way. They have a right to believe what they believe in. The point at which you should draw the line is when they are interfering and deciding your beliefs for you.

In my own workplace, I'd say that 70 - 90% of people have pronouns in their emails, including senior men in their 50s & 60s. I have totally ignored this, not joined in, and no one has challenged me. If they did, I wouldn't give them an answer as to why, because it's none of their bloody business. Never had any trouble because of it, and there are a few quite woke people at my work.

I advise you do the same - don't give reasons, don't be drawn in to 'informal chats' about it with anyone, don't talk about it with colleagues. You stay in your lane and they might stay in theirs, although I appreciate it may not feel like that right now for you.

I read someone say that their answer to pronouns was 'I'm a woman and happy to let the English language do its work', which I thought covered it.

Sorry, to go off topic a little.. but just thinking more about gender... based on the characteristics there is no 'gender' just 'gender reassignment'.

So if this is the case, why is 'gender' the term used in every form I see and place I look?
Does anyone know? It's not a defining characteristic and surely irrelevant?

Yes, I'm not able to be openly GC at work, but I saw off an attempt to remove references to sex in policy documents by innocently asking if it was sensible to deviate from the PCs in the Equality Act.

Go easy OP. There are environments where just not using pronouns is enough dissent. I wouldn't go looking for trouble. Opportunities will arise to make your point in a calm or humourous way.

I said, "I don't find it comfortable to be forced to possibly out myself before I am ready"

I would not bother getting involved. If you try and educate people your company might pull you in front of HR, they sound bonkers enough.

Can you set up a rule to block emails that include the term 'stonewall'?

There are 9 protected characteristics (google them!) - gender assignment is but one of many...

@titchy you mean gender reassignment?

What I mean is, if asked to share pronouns can't we just say - as my gender isn't a protected characteristic I don't feel comfortable sharing that?

It's a tough one. My organisation are about to be stonewalled and I really want to send the CEO a message about what this looks like as I think she is GC.

Good advice