www.bbc.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.64.81  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Skip to content

British Broadcasting Corporation
RegisterSign In
 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Business
 * Innovation
 * Culture
 * Travel
 * Earth
 * Video
 * Live

 * Home
   
 * News
    * Israel-Gaza War
      
    * War in Ukraine
      
    * US Election
      
    * US & Canada
      
    * UK
       * UK Politics
         
       * England
         
       * N. Ireland
          * N. Ireland Politics
            
      
       * Scotland
          * Scotland Politics
            
      
       * Wales
          * Wales Politics
            
   
    * Africa
      
    * Asia
       * China
         
       * India
         
   
    * Australia
      
    * Europe
      
    * Latin America
      
    * Middle East
      
    * In Pictures
      
    * BBC Verify
      

 * Sport
   
 * Business
    * Executive Lounge
      
    * Technology of Business
      
    * Women at the Helm
      
    * Future of Business
      

 * Innovation
    * Technology
      
    * Science & Health
      
    * Artificial Intelligence
      
    * AI v the Mind
      

 * Culture
    * Film & TV
      
    * Music
      
    * Art & Design
      
    * Style
      
    * Books
      
    * Entertainment News
      

 * Travel
    * Destinations
       * Africa
         
       * Antarctica
         
       * Asia
         
       * Australia and Pacific
         
       * Caribbean & Bermuda
         
       * Central America
         
       * Europe
         
       * Middle East
         
       * North America
         
       * South America
         
   
    * World’s Table
      
    * Culture & Experiences
      
    * Adventures
      
    * The SpeciaList
      

 * Earth
    * Natural Wonders
      
    * Weather & Science
      
    * Climate Solutions
      
    * Sustainable Business
      
    * Green Living
      

 * Video
   
 * Live
    * Live News
      
    * Live Sport
      

RegisterSign In
Home
News

Sport
Business

Innovation

Culture

Travel

Earth

Video
Live

Audio
Weather
Newsletters


SHOULD YOUR EMAIL SAY IF YOU'RE HE, SHE OR THEY?

19 February 2020
Share
Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, New York
Share
Getty Images
People are adding pronouns to their email sign-offs

When Janice O'Neill, the director of talent management at property firm Cushman
& Wakefield, urged staff in 2018 to "add their pronouns" to their email
signatures, the responses were mixed.

Some told her they felt for the first time like they belonged at the firm.
Others had no idea what she was talking about.

Ms O'Neill was encouraging a relatively minor tweak: adding a line to an email
signature that shares which personal pronoun a person uses - he, she, they or
something else entirely - alongside other basics like their phone number.

The practice, which started in academic and non-profit circles and is becoming
increasingly common on the corporate world, is intended to make the workplace
more comfortable for all - including staff who are transgender or non-binary,
meaning they neither identify as male or female.

"The whole point really is that it's a way to send the message that gender is
not binary. This is normalising that conversation," Ms O'Neill says. "This is a
very easy way to send a message of inclusion."




'BUSINESS IMPERATIVE'

The push in the corporate world poses a stark contrast to the political arena,
where transgender rights remain hotly contested.

US President Donald Trump has moved to roll back protections and many states are
considering proposals to limit trans rights. In the UK, the proposal to reform
the Gender Recognition Act to make it easier for people to gain official
recognition of their gender identities has prompted furious debate.

But companies increasingly see inclusion as a "business imperative", says Beck
Bailey, who directs the workplace equality programme at the Human Rights
Campaign civil rights organisation, which annually surveys large firms on items
such as non-discrimination policies.

Getty Images
Transgender rights remain hotly contested

This year, more than 680 companies received a perfect score, up from 13 in 2002,
when it was launched.



While the index doesn't specifically ask about personal pronoun email policies,
they are top of mind for many firms, Mr Bailey says. He estimates that he speaks
to companies about the issue two to three times a week.

"It's a very big conversation," he says. "Companies are saying, 'Okay, now we
have an inclusive workplace, policies and practices. How do we really make that
come to life within the walls of our business?' Putting pronouns in email
signatures is one way."


'IT'S WHERE WE NEED TO BE'

Investment bank Goldman Sachs issued pronoun guidelines in November. Money
manager TIAA has a policy; the practice has also been taken up at big US law
firms. In the UK, Virgin Management and insurance giant Lloyds are among the
firms that have made similar moves.

In part, Mr Bailey says firms have been spurred to act by political moves,
including changes in some US states that allow people to select alternatives to
male or female on their driver's licence.

Employers, competing to recruit staff amid historically low unemployment rates,
are also shifting to accommodate a younger generation of workers, who report
increasingly fluid views of sexuality and gender.



A Pew Research survey last year found that roughly 20% of Americans know someone
who prefers to go by a gender neutral pronoun - a share that rises to a third
for those between the ages of 18 and 29.

"We're really doing it because we think from a values-based standpoint, from an
inclusion standpoint and from a societal standpoint, based on demographic
trends, it's where we need to be," says Corie Pauling, chief inclusion and
diversity officer at TIAA.

"People realise that the old way of doing business just doesn't fly anymore,"
says Ms O'Neill, of Cushman & Wakefield. "I think more and more large companies
are going to move in this direction."

 * The first step in transgender equality in the workplace
 * Trans models: From decades of rejection to centre stage
 * LGBTQ+ and the BBC

In the UK, firms have been slower to adopt such practices, but there are signs
of change, says Emma Cusdin, a director at corporate training firm Global
Butterflies, which worked on the Lloyd's update.



"Corporates, the better corporates, start to understand that they are actually
missing out on great talent if they're not totally inclusive," she says.

Policies aside, it's not clear to what extent staff are embracing the shift.

Mr Bailey says he encourages companies to make adding pronouns optional, so
transgender staff do not feel pressure to out themselves before they're ready.
But optional policies also run the risk of only LGBTQ people participating,
which can defeat the intent to make it normal.

Companies with global footprints must also take local attitudes into account. At
Cushman & Wakefield, for example, most of the "messaging" about pronouns was
directed to staff in the western hemisphere, Ms O'Neill says.

Handout
Maeve DuVally hasn't felt a need to make the addition herself


At Goldman Sachs, the policy has been generally well received and more pronouns
seem, at least anecdotally, to be popping up in emails, says Maeve DuVally, a
managing director of media relations at Goldman Sachs, who came out as a
transgender woman last year.

But the 58-year-old hasn't felt a need to make the addition herself.

"I should probably do that but mostly everybody who I interact with knows what
my pronouns are and if they don't know, I let them know," she says, adding that
she still welcomes the policy.

"It can be very upsetting to be mis-gendered," she says. "There aren't too many
of us that are out at the firm. I think it's important to continue to send a
message to them that transgender employees are valued."


BEYOND 'HE' AND 'SHE'


SWEDEN'S 'GENDER-NEUTRAL' PRE-SCHOOL




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

British Broadcasting Corporation
 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Business
 * Innovation
 * Culture
 * Travel
 * Earth
 * Video
 * Live
 * Audio
 * Weather
 * BBC Shop

BBC in other languages



FOLLOW BBC ON:


 * Terms of Use
 * About the BBC
 * Privacy Policy
 * Cookies
 * Accessibility Help
 * Contact the BBC
 * Advertise with us
 * Do not share or sell my info
 * Contact technical support

Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved.  The BBC is not responsible for the
content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.