City of Stonnington councillor Alexander Lew criticised after raising concerns of ‘political’ pronoun use in email signatures

An inner city councillor who questioned the use of pronouns in email signatures has been blasted by the mayor and told to take diversity and inclusion training.

An inner-city councillor has been lectured on “diversity and inclusion” policy after he questioned why council managers started including gender pronouns like “he/him” in email signatures.

City of Stonnington councillor Alexander Lew claimed that the practice was political, and that staff who didn’t wish to add their pronouns to signatures “may themselves feel ostracised or pressured”.

“Can you please advise of how the adding pronouns to email signatures is consistent with the need for council staff to remain apolitical?” he wrote to Stonnington chief executive Jacqui Weatherill, who uses the pronouns “she/her”.

In his email that was also copied in to other councillors, Mr Lew included a link to a federal parliamentary committee hearing that involved a heated exchange on the transgender issue between a Victorian Greens senator and a City of Melton councillor.

In emails seen by the Herald Sun, Mr Lew’s question provoked an angry response, including by mayor Jami Klisaris who suggested Mr Lew undergo diversity and inclusion training.

“Your email has caused great offense (sic), and I am deeply concerned that you don’t appreciate the harmful ramifications that your communication is having on many people,” the mayor wrote.

Ms Klisaris said Stonnington’s leadership team fully supported council officers to “choose and share their gender pronouns in the workplace should they wish”.

Mayor Jami Klisaris.

Stonnington councillor Alexander Lew.

“Some officers choose to do this to avoid being misgendered, while others choose to do this to demonstrate support and build cultural safety within the organisation for our LGBTIQA+ staff and communities,” he said.

Greens councillor Mike Scott denied that using gender pronouns in emails was political, saying it was “a small step in making people feel accepted for who they are, welcomed at council and that they are safe to participate as their full selves”.

The use of gender pronouns like he/him or she/they in email signatures is spreading throughout government agencies but is not so common in the private sector.

In NSW, Transport Department staff have been told to declare their pronouns in their official email tags in a move criticised by some as “woke identity politics”.

Insitute of Public Affairs foundations of western civilisation program director Dr Bella d’ABrera said that “woke” Stonnington was at odds with mainstream Australian values.

“Gender pronouns are dehumanising because they encourage the divisive notion that Australians should be defined by their gender and sexual proclivities rather than as individuals,” she said

The Victorian Public Service’s LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Language Guide details how to be respectful towards “lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex, and queer and questioning people”.

It advises that if unsure what someone’s pronoun is, the public servant could ask them privately what pronoun they use.

“Do not ask ‘What pronoun do you prefer?’ A person’s pronoun and identity are not a preference,” the guide says.