Pronouns in work signatures- how do I stop it?

[SloppyThePoodle]

My employer has just mentioned they want people to start putting pronouns in email signatures. They have said it isn't mandatory. My question is, should I contact management to explain why this isn't a good idea, and if so, what sources can I provide?
Thanks all
(Hope i posted this in the right place)

I agree with PP that I would just completely ignore the message and do nothing.

I do think people pointing out it's not mandatory as a way of minimising the issue is disingenuous. If it's optional - truly optional, with no risk of reputational harm or judgement for refusing - then it makes no sense for the employer to even suggest or request that people add their pronouns in the first place. Why would the employer even bring it up? There's presumably been no previous "ban" on adding pronouns. And if there's now no expectation to add them, nothing has changed and no memo is required.

Isn't it fading away now and becoming a bit old hat.

Fair enough - vast majority of people I know don’t care one way or the other so it always confuses me when I come across people who do, on either side of the coin. Whatever makes you happy though, if that’s taking the good fight to HR or whatever, more power to you.

How about live and let live?

It's not compulsory, if you don't want to don't do it (I wouldn't either), but what does it matter what someone chooses to be called?

I am staunchly against men in women's spaces, or women's sport and a man absolutely can't choose to be a woman, but I think anyone is free to live, look, dress and be called as they choose.

I do think people pointing out it's not mandatory as a way of minimising the issue is disingenuous. I

Who said I was minimising ? Mandatory isn't a spectrum. It either is. Or it isn't.

Believe you me, the best thing to do - and which was always the best thing - is to studiously ignore all of this bollocks. If you choose to froth about it, you merely give it a legitimacy it really doesn't deserve.

I sometimes wonder how I managed to grow up without this burning urge to fill in every box on every form that was waved before me. Yet even now, in 2025, I read post after post of people agonising over what they should put in an optional field on an optional form.

I was asked at my work if we wanted a lanyard to show support my reply was no thank you, I treat all my patients with the same respect no matter who it is. Never asked me again.

Some names aren't obvious if they are male or female, so pronouns can save time for others to know how to address them without needing to ask.

I am a massive fan of pronouns. They really to tell me a lot about a person.

Then can't you just put Mr X / Ms X if you need /want to?

Pretending pronoun declaration isn't just virtue signalling at this point is ridiculous.

It's an obvious political statement and should be put firmly in the bin.

Why do you need to know how someone feels about their gender identity when you email them?

Crap like this makes me so glad I'm not a part of the corporate world anymore.

Oh and @SloppyThePoodle how on earth are your employers only just getting round to this now??

I thought this had long since died a death.

(Clearly just wishful thinking)

We had this. I put mine down as he/him (I am a woman, 57 with a matronly bosom 😄) and nobody has said a single word about it. Makes me laugh. I might take it off now though as I've noticed fewer people have theirs listed now.

Our staff member called Sam was always being mistaken for a man on her emails. Declaring her gender would have been a great help to her. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.

to add - pronouns don't tell you if some is male or female.

It tells you how someone feels about their own internal sense of "gender identity". Frankly I have zero interest in this. Its like knowing someones fave M&M colour.

I do not care.

How would it have been a great help to her?

If it isn't mandatory I just wouldn't do it and stay quiet.

How on earth do you think we managed before pronouns in email signatures?

You would address Alex, as Alex on emails and if you actually met them it would be obvious whether they were male or female, or another colleague might refer to them as she or he.
Nobody got offended and felt the need to whip up an employment tribunal for hate speech or get all the staff 're-educated'

I love that you did this 👏 . You’d be my all time favourite colleague 🤣

English has always had "they/their" for situations where someones sex isn't clear. The fact it isn't the linguistic default is merely proof positive of the rarity of women in the workplace.

(If mandatory) a much much better way is to change your pronouns daily. And make a big stink if they aren't used correctly.

My wonderful previous boss, a middle aged woman, when this was launched at our work said “it’s OK I’ll take my chances being misgendered”.

Is this still a thing? After reading about the gender bias revealed when Martin Schneider and Nicole Hallberg swapped email accounts, I decided there was no reason whatsoever to draw attention to the fact I am female. I have a unisex name and am sometimes referred to as “he” (funnily enough by people misreading my name because my surname can also be a man’s name), but I am also totally unbothered.

I can only think of one person outside of HR that has pronouns in their email signature and they also have a unisex name, so I can only assume it matters to them how they are perceived and addressed. I’ve never met them in person so I don’t actually know their sex, but their sex has bugger all to do with the job we do so it’s not a big deal.

I worked for an high tech engineering company where the HR department tried the pronoun thing. I didn’t think the workforce view of HR dept could drop any further but it did and they took marketing dept with them. Not a soul from Engineering, Projects nor Finance added pronouns and viewed HR as the intellectual weak link of the company.

Wow. Main character syndrome 😅

I actually haven't noticed your comment and had another PP in mind when I wrote mine.