I work in tech, not politics
"Tech isn't political" is itself a political stance. (And a hard to support one, IMO.)
It's very easy to support because it isn't political unless you apply it in that domain.
Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
41–50 of 150 posts
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#42I’ve seen this forced at larger companies and Universities. I’m neutral on the topic of stating pronouns — could somebody with more knowledge explain the difference between including pronouns and age/sex/race/religion/ethnicity? From my understanding, usage of pronouns is about not making any assumptions and being inclusive. So I’m just not sure what or where the line is.
> I’m neutral on the topic of stating pronouns — could somebody with more knowledge explain the difference between including pronouns and age/sex/race/religion/ethnicity?
It's presumably quite a bit more common for someone to say "Oh, him? He's one of our developers" than it is to say "Oh, that Jew? That Jew is one of our developers." (If the latter is common, you've probably got more for HR to do than worry about pronouns.)
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#43I don't think it's widespread. I think it's a good initiative because it includes everyone.
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#44It's viewed by some as a political matter, but in reality, the intent is to ensure that everyone feels comfortable sharing their pronouns without making people feel awkward. So by mentioning my own (he/him), I'm enabling a non-cis person to share theirs without them feeling odd about it, which boosts inclusivity. That's the intent. I haven't done it yet (I probably should), but while I don't see neutrality towards st…
Would a better aim be that any person can choose, or choose not, to proffer their pronouns, and feel equally comfortable either way?
> Would a better aim be that any person can choose, or choose not, to proffer their pronouns, and feel equally comfortable either way?
How do you mitigate the risk of minimal usage of pronouns by cis persons compared to non-cis folks? That's where the challenge lies - outsized non-cis usage of pronouns exposes them to hatred by those with bias, hence the desire for usage by cis folk.
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#45I'm cis male. I recently decided to add pronouns to my slack and twitter bio.
I would prefer a world where pronouns are not gendered. I can't change that, but I can take the simple step of adding my pronouns. It costs me nothing, but may provide some comfort to others maligned by society.
I think your employer recommending it is fine. Wider adoption makes it more comfortable for trans/non-binary individuals to state their preferences. I'd object to an employer mandating it. My employer has a field in slack, but there is no pressure to fill it out.
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#46I am a white cis male. Normalising the statement of preferred pronouns is very important for people who's gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth. I state my pronouns on both my social media and work emails. Your statement of being "LGBT / neutral" seems strange to me, being neutral on whether other human beings should have the same rights I enjoy does not seem to be something I can be neutral on. I…
> Your statement of being "LGBT / neutral" seems strange to me
I think the / in that sentence is supposed to be read as "and", so:
> I am LGBT and neutral regarding the the use of pronouns.
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#47Diversity questions aside, some given names are ambiguous. Some names are not, but may have different (assumed) genders depending on the language. In those cases it may be helpful to add a "Mrs"/"Mr" or similar, just to save people the embarrassment of addressing a woman as a man or vice versa. And isn't a "Mr"/"Mrs" a sort of pronoun spec as well? You're saying "use the usual pronouns for females/males".
This.
Even in the West, we have plenty of unisex names that could easily fit both men and women. E.g., "Alex", "Morgan", "Reese", "Taylor", etc.
For non-Western names, not everyone would be familiar with the cultural context behind the language's naming schemes or gender context.
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#48I work at a very left-leaning SV unicorn. Most people don’t advertise their pronouns, but quite a few do. I’m mildly peeved by this. To me the practice feels like taking off one’s lower body half garment to expose the genitalia. “See? This is my gender.” What difference does this make in a professional context? Our culture has put so much emphasis on treating all genders (or no gender) exactly the same: that was the…
The other side of this is that transgender people do exist and there can be some benefit to having many people announce their pronouns rather than just expecting transgender people to call attention to themselves by doing so. People have various opinions about whether this sort of cover is helpful, but this is the motivation behind encouraging cis people to share their pronouns.
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#49They haven't and no, I wouldn't do it. It's compelled speech.
Re: Ask HN: Does your employer want you to state pronouns in email signature?
#50Seems fine to me. As this has been encouraged but not mandated by your organisation it seems pretty benign. From what I understand about this sort of initiative it's about creating an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their preferred pronouns and helping, (e.g.) non cisgender people to feel like an outlier for doing so.