August Blog: Workforce Connector

Importance of Pronouns

Pronouns are meant to help individuals let others know how they identify. Pronouns can help workforce members make sure they keep an inclusive environment within the company. When a person shares their pronouns, they are expressing the pronouns that they want to be referred by. If an employee addresses another employee using incorrect pronouns, an employee may feel attacked or discriminated against.

At the Kettle Moraine School District in Wales, Wisconsin a ban was put on using pronouns in school emails and setting up pride flags in the classroom. The school district’s Superintendent Stephen Plum said their teachers and administrators are prohibited from displaying political or religious messages in the classrooms or on themselves. These kinds of messages include LGBTQ+ pride flags. School district staff are also not allowed to express in emails what their preferred pronouns are. By not allowing pronouns to be used or any form of inclusive materials in the schools, members of different communities are not feeling welcome and feel discriminated against.

Former Kettle Moraine High School English teacher Trey Korte spoke, 

“When you remove something that had been there awhile that represented a marginalized group, [or] when you take that away, it does make people feel unwelcome.”

To prevent different communities from feeling discriminated in the workplace, employers need to take action. Employers should educate their workforce on why pronouns are important and how using pronouns correctly can help the company better succeed. Pronouns can help create an inclusive working environment, which helps the company become more appealing for job applicants and current workforce members will have a stronger incentive to stay longer keeping the company turnover rate low.

American political activist Rev. Jesse Jackson preached,

“Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness. It is the key to growth.”