What are pronouns?
Pronouns are words that are used in place of someone’s name when talking about that person. The most common pronouns used for people are he/him/his or she/her/hers. Additionally, some transgender and non-binary people may use pronouns such as they/them/theirs or ze/zir/zirs. Everyone has pronouns. A person’s pronouns may sometimes match their gender expression or appearance, but we should not assume anyone’s pronouns solely based on their appearance.
Why do Pendleton Place staff add pronouns to our email signatures?
As part of Pendleton Place’s commitment to integrity and building relationships based on trust, we are incorporating a tone of respect and inclusion for all gender identities by the simple addition of adding our own pronouns to our email signatures. Many people have not had to think about the issue of gender pronouns before and this action helps to create awareness through a consistent reminder that this is important. We recognize that we cannot always know a person’s gender by looking at them or by knowing their name via email. By adding our own pronouns, we are attempting to normalize the sharing of pronouns and avoid making assumptions about a person’s gender in the spaces in which we work. We hope this will lead to a more inclusive environment for the people we work with and those we serve through our programs.