You’ve arrived here because you’ve noticed my pronouns in my email signature.
You may have noticed pronouns generally being used more in email signatures, online meetings, social media accounts etc, but if you don't have to think about your gender regularly, or you’re not very familiar with the LGBTQ+ community, this may be unusual to see and could initially be a little confusing and/or difficult to relate to.
So, we’d like to tell you why, at Wilmington plc, our colleagues are invited to share their pronouns in their email signatures.
People frequently refer to each other using pronouns, and often when speaking of someone in the third person, a gender is implied; such as he or she. Sometimes, the gender association is not always accurate nor helpful, and often this is based on assumptions of the other person, such as their appearance or their name.
Up until recently, the only pronouns most people had heard of were he/him/his and she/her/hers. However, as the non-binary community has become more visible, more and more people are becoming aware of non-gendered pronouns such as they/them/theirs. Unfortunately, trans and non-binary people are often misgendered – and at times deliberately.
Using someone’s correct pronouns is a way to respect them, just as using a person’s name can be a way to respect them. Which is why we share our pronouns – so that everyone can feel comfortable sharing how they identify and be respected for that.
Our cis-gender (someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth) colleagues share their pronouns to enable those from the non-binary and transgender communities to feel more comfortable, seen and recognised.
We hope this simple act can lead us on the way to normalising pronouns and making the world a more accepting and inclusive place for all.
You can read more about how an inclusive culture is important to our business here.