Growing number of employers recognizing the importance of pronouns, business leader says

A former employee of the Dallas Arboretum alleges that they were fired because of their gender identity, according to a recent in a discrimination charge.

The employee, who is genderqueer and uses she and they pronouns, said their termination followed disagreement with management about their use of gender-expansive pronouns. They were told by management that they could not put their pronouns in their email signature, introduce themselves with their pronouns or wear pins displaying their pronouns, according to the charge.

The recognition of gender-expansive pronouns in professional communication is becoming increasingly common, said Tony Vedda, president and CEO of the North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce. He said more businesses are embracing the use of pronouns in the workplace to be more inclusive of gender identities outside of the binary.

A 2021 study by the Pew Research Center says that about 26% of American adults say they know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns when referring to themselves. That number is up from 18% in 2018.

Half of Americans said they would feel very or somewhat comfortable using a gender-neutral pronoun to refer to someone. But 48% of people surveyed said they would feel very or somewhat uncomfortable doing so.

“I think people overthink it sometimes,” Vedda said. “But it’s no different than putting your name at the end of an email … because that’s how I want people to refer to me. So why wouldn’t I also put ‘he/him’ at the end of my emails?”

He said that while he has seen some opposition to the practice, the use of pronouns boils down to treating other people fairly.

Dallas’ city charter protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, and violating this is punishable by a fine paid to the city.

Federal and state court rulings have also granted legal protections to LGBTQ employees in Texas, despite there not being a statewide policy barring anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace.

According to a 2020 study by the Waco-based Perryman Group, a statewide, comprehensive nondiscrimination act passed in 2021 would have had positive business outcomes, including more than 180,000 new jobs and $19.8 billion in annual gross product by 2025.

Young job hunters, Vedda said, are more than ever looking for companies’ diversity policies and work culture.

“They’re making decisions on where to work based on [diversity policies],” he said. “They want to know that companies are treating everyone respectfully and equally.”