GENDERED LANGUAGE

Gender pronouns are a small part of a person’s gender expression. Not everyone fits into the categories we use as a basis to determine one’s gender. 

Continually using the wrong pronoun or intentionally misgendering someone can cause harmful impacts to that person, your relationship with them, 

and to the morale of your whole team. We have included some examples of the more common pronouns, but there are a wide variety reserved 

primarily for non-binary individuals beyond these.

Gendered language is deeply embedded in the way we communicate, so ingrained that we often don’t notice when it’s used. It includes words used to describe a person, most apparently by the pronouns we use for people when we are talking about them, but not directly to them. Pronouns are used to describe people or things without having to use their name.

Often in our society, we use pronouns for others based on how we perceive them to be – as men or women – which we determine primarily by their appearance; however, it is not possible to accurately determine a person’s gender or gender identity by appearance alone. Different gender identities exist and people use varied pronouns corresponding with their gender identity.