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After consulting with our campus partners, as well as embracing a culture of inclusion, OIT is pleased to announce the release of the new Zoom pronoun feature on Monday, November 15. The release endeavors to help our users feel more included, able to express themselves, and be seen.

Pronouns are an essential piece to many of our diverse users expressing themselves and respectfully referring to others. Some common examples of pronouns are he/him/his, she/her/hers, and they/them/theirs.

While pronoun sharing can be particularly important to LGBTQ community members, we also recognize that it enables our users to better share about themselves and be more respectfully treated on the Zoom platform.

In introducing the pronouns feature, we hope this will help everyone feel better able to express themselves and respectfully address others, which ultimately leads to a stronger culture of connectivity and an improved communications experience.

“Pronouns are how people refer to one another when not using their name. Using someone’s correct pronouns is akin to pronouncing their name correctly. This small but significant sign of respect goes a long way in creating an environment where everyone can show up, be seen, and addressed respectfully as who they are,” said Alex Schmider, Associate Director for Transgender Representation at GLAAD.

OIT hopes that you consider adding pronouns to your profile in an effort to build on the sense of belonging and inclusion.

Resources:

• CU Denver's Office of Equity has an informative page on gender visibility (at the bottom of the page, there is quite a bit of helpful information on pronouns and preferred pronouns)
• NPR - A Guide to Understanding Gender Identity and Pronouns
• GSLEN: Pronoun guide