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Posted on 31 Mar 2022

In October 2021, as part of National Hate Crime Awareness Week, Nottinghamshire Healthcare, Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Nottingham University Hospitals and the Institute of Mental Health worked together to raise awareness of the important issue around the use of pronouns.

We are delighted to announce that from Thursday 31 March 2022, which is International Trans Day of Visibility, all new staff to each organisation will be given the option of adding their pronouns to their work ID badges.

This will help ensure that staff are addressed by their correct pronouns, which is part of creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.

Dr Nat Thorne, Nottinghamshire Trans Hub Volunteer, said “For many trans people, sharing their pronouns can be daunting. However, the pain of being misgendered cannot be underestimated. Having your pronoun on your badge shows that you understand this and want to help change the way we deal with pronouns by making it clear our pronouns are a choice, not something that is chosen for us. We welcome the option for everybody to show their pronouns on their badge.”

Sharing our pronouns and encouraging others to get used to doing it shows that we all welcome, encourage, support and accept diversity. Using an individual’s correct pronoun is important as it validates their identity. Referring to someone as ‘he’ when they identify as ‘she’ - is known as mis-gendering and which can lead to people feeling marginalised or invalidated and may affect their mental health and well-being.

Some trans people, particularly non-binary people, need to constantly ‘come out’ to others to correct the pronouns others use when talking about them. Many organisations, like Nottinghamshire Healthcare, Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Nottingham University Hospitals, and the Institute of Mental Health are encouraging their staff to act as allies and normalise the act of sharing their pronouns in their email signature and social media profile(s).