Pronouns are the words you use when talking about someone, for example, she, him, they, you, I, etc. However, lately, there has been a lot of talk surrounding the use of pronouns and people using them differently than before.
Earlier, sex and gender have been used synonymously, but really, they mean two different things. Sex refers to the biological compounds that make you either male, female, or intersex, meaning you are biologically neither male nor female. Gender refers to the social construct that adverts to your identity and who you are: girl, boy, nonbinary or other.
Now, we use the terms as to different concepts where one is more accurate to who a person is instead of what their bodies are made up of. Because of this, some people have found that she and he do not describe them and therefore have started using the pronouns they and them. A person's pronouns are a part of who they are just like a name or age and should be something that person feels good about and feels represent them.
But why should you care how someone else identifies? Well, the answer is simple. Respect. When you use the correct pronouns, you show that you see them as a person with a mind and a heart, not just their body. It may be hard to understand and relate to how someone with different pronouns feels. But the thing is, you don’t have to understand or agree, you just have to respect them.
You may have noticed that many use pronouns on LinkedIn, Instagram, and other social media. It is easy to set up in the settings of your profile if you want yours to be visible. This is a great way to show awareness and inclusion.
Many also have a problem from a grammatical standpoint. They argue that “they/them” refers to multiple people instead of one. A reminder would be that the sentence “Someone lost their wallet, I hope they find it.” is grammatically correct and refers to only one person. Another thing is that language changes, one example is the former use of “you” and “thou”. Now we only use “you”, but originally, “thou” was a singular person while “you” was plural, it later changed, as referring to someone as “you” was seen as more polite.
All in all, someone's pronouns and gender identity are something uniquely personal. You wouldn’t tell someone how to spell their name, because it is theirs, the same goes for identity. So, a good way to show respect is to use the right pronouns and be mindful that there are other options than the binary he and her.
In Cegal there are two drivers behind awareness around the use of pronouns - our value inclusive, and the way we work with sustainability and social responsibility. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are key terms in our work with social responsibility. Being mindful of inclusive language, pronouns, and gender-neutral language is a tool to take action on inclusion.