City of Melbourne Council workers asked to include pronouns on email signatures
Staff at Melbourne Council now have the option to switch up their preferred pronouns to “he, she or they” in the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at supporting the LGBTIQ community.
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City of Melbourne Council staff have been asked to include whether they’d like to be called “he, she or they” on their emails.
Workers have been given the option of customising email signatures to communicate how they would like to be addressed.
The council yesterday confirmed to the Sunday Herald Sun that under new guidelines staff were being given the option of nominating a personal pronoun on official correspondence.
But it was not compulsory.
“The City of Melbourne considers the use of pronouns in email signatures a matter of personal choice,’’ a spokeswoman said.
“We fully support staff choosing to use personal pronouns in email signatures, however, there is no requirement to do so.
“The use of pronouns is listed as optional in our corporate email signature guidelines.”
The City of Melbourne Council in 2018 launched a Pride Network which “brings together LGBTIQ employees and their allies who speak up so that people can bring their whole selves to work.”
The ability for employees to nominate a gender or choose to be gender-neutral on correspondence fitted with the city’s support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and questioning community.
The Pride Network was formed during the national debate on marriage equality.
The City of Melbourne Council had expressed strong support for gay marriage.
The council’s “Pride Pledge” asks all employees to support the gay and transgender community and “commit to speaking out and acting against homophobia, biphobia, intersexism and transphobia” regardless of whether they identify as LGBTIQ.
“The majority of our workforce has taken the pledge so far and LGBTIQ awareness training is providing important education and understanding,” it website states.
“As a leading organisation for a leading city, we foster a workplace that is inclusive, safe and respectful.
“We strive to nurture a culture of individuality, diversity and belonging, which means offering support to our LGBTIQ communities and staff.”
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