Pronouns, Pronounced

Working on my bio-writing guide I’m wondering how/if to deal with the issue of people displaying pronouns after their names. Sometimes termed “preferred pronouns”, I’ve seen this exclusively in professional contexts like email signatures, Zoom calls and LinkedIn profiles.

 

Why are pronouns such a pronounced part of your professional identity?

 

It’s as prominent as another name, often more so than academic degrees or core professional qualifications.

Doesn’t seem useful: I only see feminine women with “(she/her)” and masculine men with “(he/him)”: exactly the pronouns with which I—and assume all other English speakers—would refer to them.

While I understand there are related cultural and political issues, those are out of the scope of my work. I’d like to keep this conversation strictly focused on the areas of professional identity, of which this section is a part.

I’m trying to understand the motivations and integrate this into my work, I have some questions for those individuals who display pronouns (or previously did). All questions as optional, even your name or email, and answers will be kept strictly confidential.

 

NameOptional. Provide pseudonym if you like.

Email Addressoptional

How would you describe your motivations for displaying pronouns?

If you didn't do this, who would / might suffer? and how?

(How) is this connected to actual/deeper work you do?

How do you hope you displaying pronouns is perceived by others?

Is this among your organization's significant problems?YES NO

How would you improve this questionnaire?

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