Make University Inclusive: Use your Pronouns
Category: Representation
Voting closed
Sharing pronouns on social media and adding them to your email signature is a massive step toward true inclusivity and shows queer people that they are safe with you. Having visible pronouns is a way to be a true ally to the LGBT+ community as it helps normalise discussions about gender and lifts the burden from trans and non binary people to explain their gender identity.
Having your pronouns in your email signature shows support and solidarity for your LGBT+ peers. Normalising visible pronouns is a key way to reduce stigma and confusion.
As a non-binary person, I am much more likely to feel safe with a person who has pronouns in their bio — this shows me that they are trying to be inclusive, and I can be myself with them. Not only is this key for allies, pronouns are a profound part of transgender and non-binary identities. But it can get tiring having to explain your pronouns again and again, so having them clearly visible in an email signature is a simple but effective way to let your peers/colleagues know how you would like to be referred to.
Adding pronouns to social media handles/bios, email signatures, and even LinkedIn bios is an effective way cisgender people can help transgender and non-binary people to feel seen, included, and validated.
Our aim is to implement a pronoun normality across the University and have every student and staff member possible adding their pronouns to their university email signatures. Ideally, we will see a rise in lecturers, staff members, and students ending their emails with evident pronouns, to show recipients how they would like to be referred to.
An example of this would be:
Kind regards
Amelia Holroyd (she/they)
LGBT Network Assistant
Help us reduce the stigma around pronouns. Add yours to your email signature
Check out these helpful articles on the importance of using pronouns:
https://mysignature.io/blog/how-to-use-pronouns-in-email-signatures/
https://www.inhersight.com/blog/allyship/pronoun-email-signature
https://www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk/blog/why-we-use-pronouns-in-signatures/
Follow the LGBT+ Network on Instagram at @lgbtnetworkhudsu
Join the Network at https://www.huddersfieldsu.co.uk/
Comments
This is a fantastic idea!
This is a fantastic idea!
This is a great idea! How do we ensure that this is an meaningful action, that changes pronoun normality throughout the university and not just a change that potentially makes some cis-het students/ staff feel like its something they have to do out of necessity instead of out of a genuine want to meaningfully improving the lived experience of trans and non-binary students at university? Will there be a social action campaign to educate/ inform staff of the importance of the inclusion of pronouns in email signatures etc?