Pronouns at Work: Practical Inclusive Practices for Organizations

Inclusive workplaces and organizations are built through systems as well as good intentions. Pronoun practices can be one practical part of creating an environment where trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people are treated respectfully.

Make Pronoun Sharing Optional

Organizations can provide opportunities for people to share pronouns without requiring disclosure.

Examples include optional pronoun fields on staff profiles, email signatures, name tags, registration forms, and virtual meeting names. Leaders who are comfortable sharing their own pronouns can help normalize the practice.

Avoid policies that force everyone to publicly state their pronouns. People may have personal, privacy, safety, or identity-related reasons for not doing so.

Review Forms and Systems

Look at where your organization collects gender, titles, names, and pronouns. Ask whether each field is actually necessary and whether the available options reflect the people you serve.

When pronouns are collected, make sure staff who need that information can actually see and use it. A form that asks for someone’s pronouns but repeatedly displays the wrong information elsewhere can create additional frustration.

Build Respect Into Policies

Pronoun practices work best when they are part of broader expectations around respectful conduct, privacy, anti-harassment, inclusion, and responding to discrimination.

Policies should be written clearly enough that staff, volunteers, members, and participants understand what respectful behaviour looks like and where concerns can be raised.

Train People for Real Situations

Education should go beyond definitions. Staff and volunteers benefit from practicing situations they may actually encounter, including:

• Introducing themselves without making assumptions.
• Responding when they use the wrong pronoun.
• Respectfully correcting a colleague.
• Updating a name or pronoun in organizational systems.
• Responding to disrespectful comments.
• Protecting someone’s privacy when information is not meant to be shared.

Don't Put the Work on One Person

Trans and gender-diverse employees, volunteers, clients, or members should not automatically become responsible for educating everyone around them.

Organizations can take responsibility by providing training, written resources, clear procedures, and leadership support.

Respond to Mistakes and Patterns Differently

An occasional mistake followed by a quick correction is different from repeated or deliberate disrespect. Organizations should be able to respond proportionately while maintaining clear expectations for respectful conduct.

Keep Improving

Inclusive practice is not a one-time policy update. Review forms, training, technology, physical spaces, communications, and feedback regularly to identify barriers that may have been missed.

Bring DAO Education to Your Organization

Durham Alliance Outreach offers 2SLGBTQIA+ education and workshops for workplaces, community groups, organizations, and individuals.

You can also explore partnership opportunities with DAO or contact us to discuss your organization’s needs.

This article is part of DAO’s gender-equality education series, originally supported through community funding partnerships.