Encouraged to use pronouns in email signature

[dillydallydaily]

So there have been a few conversations and emails lately from colleagues letting us know how to add our pronouns to our email signature. It's all mentioned in the context of inclusion and diversity. I personally don't want to, my personal reasons, but I feel that I may be in a minority or frowned upon if I don't. What are your thoughts/experience on this?

We have similar. It’s very much encouraged although they stop short of actually mandating it. I just ignore the pressure. I’ve noticed that lots of my colleagues do the same.

No-nouns!

... although I'm not working so I don't have a work email anymore. But honestly, how ridiculous.

This might help:

https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/pronouns/

I do it. We have such an email culture at my work that I haven't met a lot of people I might need to mention so I can refer to them appropriately. My name's pretty obviously gendered but there are a lot of unisex ones out there.

I don't add pronouns. We are 'invited to' but not told we have to. I was previously worked somewhere that it was more strongly 'encouraged'. It seems I must have a had a memory blindspot though as I just kept forgetting to add them...
I honestly don't care if someone uses the wrong pronouns about me. It's just not something that bothers me so why would I feel the need to add them?

I like that approach. Happy to use the pronouns others prefer out of courtesy but if I myself don't care about people accidentally misgendering me there is no need for me to state pronouns about myself.

What actually happened to the people who had unisex names before you put pronouns in your email?

This has nothing to do with people having unisex names.

Good question.

I have a unisex name and I've never been hospitalised as a result of it.

This exactly. If pronouns are important to someone they will state them and I’ll use them to be respectful. I don’t add mine to my signature because I don’t really care what pronouns others use for me and I’m happy for assumptions to be made.

I just wouldn’t, and if asked why I’d explain why.

couldnt give a fuck whether it’s frowned on

I’m not happy to use them out of courtesy either any more. Being polite is what’s got us quagmired in this nonsense

And what’s the worst that happens if you get the sex wrong? In my last job my boss asked me to call a Billy, and I said yes I’ll call him, and he said oh Billy is a woman, no big deal. If I had t known I would’ve quickly found out when I spoke to her.

Say you don't want to put pressure on people to declare their pronouns if they aren't ready to "out" themselves yet

I deliberately use a shortened version of my name that is "unisex" as I often get more respect if people assume I'm male

Bit of a cop out I know, but I respond with 'I don't agree with forcing people to out themselves'

This is how it used to happen.
Why have we got to such a compliant and submissive place now that misgendering someone is considered to be the same as, if not worse than literally wanting them dead?

It would be illegal discrimination to enforce this for several reasons.

• it is effectively enforcing people to go along with a belief in gender ideology. It has been legally established that it's a legitimate belief system to reject gender ideology.
• even if you do believe, forcing pronouns in signatures require people to "out themselves" or to commit to something while still exploring their options.

If you get really stuck - I did see whilst on a university campus recently that several members of the Student Union rep team had "any pronouns fine" in the pronouns slot, so that seems an acceptable way to fill the gap without having to declare your beliefs.

Just don't add them. Between people forgetting, not being arsed, or having an active objection to it I doubt you'll be in a tiny minority, nor that it will be frowned upon. Don't make yourself a victim.

We had an email at my work. A few people did it, most didn't.

We had an email last week which told us all about some information we had to add to our signatures for legal reasons (charity status etc) but then it also said and please add your pronouns. I clarified that it wasn't compulsory to add pronouns and asked that was made clear to people. They haven't so I've told my team it's up to them.

I think they deliberately tied it in with something compulsory in order to force people to comply

I absolutely will not use my pronouns in my emails. I'm the only one at work who won't and it is a hill I will die on. If they can't work out I'm a woman by my email photo and name then they are either too stupid to work there or need to go to specsavers.

There is also a body of research that shows drawing attention to a woman's sex has a detrimental effect on her career progression and how seriously she is taken in the workplace. Adding pronouns is drawing attention to your sex.

If this is something that's not coming from top-down but overzealous individual colleagues you might want to respond with a reply-all pointing out the bias hazards to women pointing out their sex in a work context. Don't have appropriate citations at hand right now but I'm sure another viper will be at hand in a moment to help out.

I have a unisex name and nothing bad has ever happened. If someone thought I was a bloke prior to meeting me or speaking to me on the phone, that didn’t affect me in any way whatsoever.

Interesting. maybe we should all put "he" and if anyones asks if you're trans, you say no, and point them to this bit of research 😆

Sadly, that's why I used my initials, not full name when I published scientific papers.