Why We Share Our Pronouns
By Bali Birch-Lee, Editorial Assistant at SAGE Publishing and Sam Perkins, Peer Review Manager
At SAGE, we are committed to building an inclusive organization that prioritizes belonging and safety where all individuals are treated with fairness and respect regardless of age, ability, gender, sex, marital and partnership status, pregnancy and parental responsibilities, race, religion and belief, socio-economic background, or sexual orientation. We are working to ensure that our company culture is equitable and representative of the communities we serve and of which we are a part.
As one element of support of these efforts, you may have seen that many SAGE staff have begun to share their pronouns in their email signatures and other virtual name displays. Sharing your pronouns can aid in destigmatization and normalization of living beyond the gender binary, minimize misgendering and help to end gendered assumptions. We hope it will foster a safer and more inclusive work environment for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
More about our guidance to SAGE employees
Pronoun sharing should be encouraged and normalized, but not mandatory.
We encourage all to share pronouns regardless of their gender. Many transgender, non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming people will list their pronouns in order to avoid being misgendered, but when it's only them doing this, it often can feel isolating and increases the risk of discrimination. Cisgender people can engage in allyship by sharing their own. Here are some tips for doing so:
In a group setting: share your pronouns and suggest others do if they’re comfortable, but don’t ask pronouns directly.
One-on-one: share your pronouns first and feel free to ask the other party for their pronouns.
If you need pronouns for something specific (e.g., a bio on a website), state that directly through one-on-one communications.
Pronoun sharing is also useful for cis people that are misgendered, especially those with names that are less familiar to others in that context and/or are ambiguously, contrastingly – or simply not – gendered.
If we get someone’s pronouns wrong, we encourage staff to correct themselves and move on.
Some people feel comfortable or uncomfortable with different or multiple pronouns depending on things such as the context (e.g., people and location) and/or their sense of gender identity at a specific moment. As a result, they may use or ask to be called by different pronouns at different times. In general, if someone lists multiple pronouns, that means it’s okay to use any of the pronouns in that setting but it can be good to check if they have preferences for different contexts or would like you to use a mixture. There are various gender-neutral pronouns beyond the commonly used they/them/their. These pronouns are shared in the same way as any other. Pronoun sets and variations in pronunciation are endless, so asking someone how they pronounce theirs can be helpful.
Here is a short guide to pronouncing more commonly used ones:
xe/xem/xyr (pronounced “zee/zem/zeer”)
ze/hir/hirs (pronounced “zee/heer/heers”)
fae/faer/faers (pronounced “fay/fair/fairs”)
ey/em/eir (pronounced “ay/em/heir”)
More resources:
Bali (they/them) is an Editorial Assistant in Books, working on the Education and Counselling lists. They recently joined Sage having previously worked in implementation, strategy, and academic & professional research on inclusive education and student experience in the HE Sector. They also have experience in public speaking, consultancy, and training on transness amongst other topics.
Sam Perkins (they/them) is a Peer Review Manager at SAGE Publishing, working to optimize systems and support for authors, editors and reviewers. They are a member of SAGE's Research Integrity Group and co-lead of SAGE’s UK LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group. Sam has an MA in Publishing, was shortlisted for London Book Fair's Trailblazer Awards and won the whitefox Unsung Heroes of Publishing Award.