According to Pronoun, (2023), pronouns are most often used when referring to a noun, such as a name, place or thing, is mentioned previously. Pronouns plays a major role in the English language, it consists of words that represent femineity and masculinity such as ‘she’/her/hers’ and ‘he/him/his’ (Why Pronouns Matter | the Office of Intercultural Engagement, n.d.). In recent years, the LGBTQ+ community popularised ‘they/them/theirs’ as gender inclusive pronouns for transgenders (trans). Transgenders are individuals who either switched their assigned sex at birth to the opposite or individual who does not associate with cis-gender (individuals who associate their gender experience same as assigned at birth) (Bauerband et al. 2018 as cited in Baptista et al., 2023). This allows the trans community feel comfortable and have their humanity respected (Manger, 2019). However, trans workers still faces an ongoing issue of discrimination with current knowledge of it still lacking (Davis & Yeung, 2022). Disclosing ones sexual orientation and pronouns is not a one-time thing that is decided by an individual (Button, 2004; Croteau et al., 2008; King et al., 2017 as cited in Di Marco et al., 2021) but it is an ongoing process and based on the esponses given by their cis-gendered counterparts, this process may discourage LGBTQ+ and trans workers to be their true self and feel unwelcomed in the workplace (Di Marco et al., 2021). The understand of gender inclusive pronouns and trans individual (Raff-erty,2018 as cited in Wilhelm et al., 2023) still remains marginalised in studies and confusing among workplace. Though majority workplace around the world are working to implement the use of gender inclusive pronouns, there remains some workplaces that do not have a comprehend set rule to use gender inclusive pronouns and it causes trans workers to feel outed from their place of work.

 

To begin, being misgendered or mispronounced can make transgender colleagues feel disrespected or alienated in a workplace. It is very common for those who gets misgendered frequently to be associated with guilt, anxiety, negative self-esteem, stigmatisation, and inauthenticity (Howansky et al., 2021). Howansky et al. (2021) claims that misgendering has a stronger and a lasting effect on social connections and categorization than implicit gender mis categorizations. From this claim, it is understandable that it could become difficult for transgender individuals to mix around or socialize with cisgendered individuals in the workplace for they may feel detached. According to a YouTube video by Seventeen, “Why Gender Pronouns Matter”, a non-binary cast who goes by the name C Mandler, mentions about a famous saying, “misgendering a trans person is an act of violence”, quoting from an American actress and activist, Laverne cox. They proceeded to claim that it is definitely an act of violence and moreover an act of psychological violence where it is a denial of somebody’s personhood and a complete refusal to acknowledge their identity whether intentional or not. However, some may disagree and argue that if a stranger or in this circumstance, a colleague who mispronounces or misgenders a transgender individual in the workplace unintentionally should not be considered an act of violence or ignorance because they do not have knowledge of that individual’s personal pronouns. Howansky et al. (2021) also claims that behavioural CIS genderism can lead to misgendering which indicates that misgendering could also occur when an individual merely observes the gender that a trans person has been assigned at birth based solely on their own view and is unaware of the trans person own identified pronouns. As a result, colleagues/co-workers should be extra careful of personal pronouns to avoid unnecessary issues or inadvertent harm. Misgendering holds a substantial detrimental impact on the classification of transgender people and socialties in the workplace, which may lead to feelings of detachment and alienation (Howansky et al., 2021).

 

According to Flores et al., (2016); Goodman et al., (2019); Jones, (2021) as cited in Goryunova et al. (2021), the United States of America’s population consists of approximately 1.4 million or 0.6% of transgender adults. Despite that, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community can still be seen throughout different stages of life

where an individual’s sexual orientation or preferences comes into discussion and is in conflict with the dominant social norms (Toh et al., 2023). Researchers took an interest in the discrimination and bias of transgender workers in a predominantly cisgender workplace. (Ozturk & Tatli, 2016; Thoroughgood, Sawyer, & Webster, 2020, 2021 as cited in Hennekam & Ladge, 2023). Ciprikis et al. (2020) as cited in Suárez et al. (2020) found that transgender individuals are highly susceptible to discrimination of their identity, race, education level and social status as transgenders are considered part of the social minorities where they are less likely to be promoted, receive increments in pay and even less likely to be hired as compared to their cisgender counterpart (Beatriz & Pereira, 2022). As time progresses, perception of transgender and their pronouns shifts along with the generation such that the cisgender cantered workplace progresses to implement gender neutral pronouns to support trans workers. Though efforts to protect workers from workplace discrimination on the grounds of sex,

which now has come to include sexual orientation and gender identity (Barnes, 2020 as cited in Suárez et al., 2020), and the effort to protect trans workers have been ongoing but the execution of the plan has been fickle and varies from states to cities (Vitulli, 2010 as cited in Suárez et al., 2020), therefore trans workers and the LGBTQ+ community continues to fight for their own rights to make their sexual orientation and preferences a norm in modern day society.

 

The third main point would be how gender-inclusive language can be rather confusing in a workplace. Gender identity recognition has been very important for encouraging inclusivity and diversity in society. It is also crucial that gender-inclusive pronouns is used when there are people who are in the LGBTQ community in a workplace. Despite the intention to encourage positive work environment and ensuring that everyone is treated fairly, there have been challenges in successfully putting these language changes into practice. According to Taylor et al. (2010), it might be a good experience for an employee going through a life-changing event such as transitioning;

however, some employees may find it somewhat difficult to adjust to the sudden changes in dressing rules, stereotypes and bathroom usage. Royal & Elamroussi (2023) claims that Florida education officials have set rules on state college employees who violate a new law that restricts using bathrooms or any changing facilities for a

gender other than what was biologically given at birth. From this rule that has been implemented, it is very understandable as to why this rule was implemented as it could make other people feel uncomfortable and unsafe especially for those whose gender identity is different from their assigned gender. People who supports this also believe that by having this rule, it would be up to societies standards as it addresses privacy issues and also upholds rooted traditions. They also believe that by using this strategy, it will guarantee a more comfortable and safer environment for all of society. Furthermore, there are also grammatical challenges that are faced in a workplace by employers. Perez (2022) claims that businesses, governments and educational institutions are working to develop inclusive language rules that respects the rights of every genders. Nevertheless, rather than having a total change, the author believes that it could be more realistic to discover personal solutions that take linguistic variances into consideration. Although language is a huge influence these days insocieties transformation, society can only depend on linguistic changes which could result in unexpected consequences. All in all, this emphasizes on how difficult it can be to handle gender-inclusive language in the workplace because of sociological, and legal issues. It highlights on how important it is to have a balance between addressing linguistic variances while also upholding individual rights in order to have an inclusive workplace.

 

It is frequently debated that embracing gender-inclusive language for trans co-workers can improve their wellbeing and relationships with others in the workplace. Perales et al. (2022) claims from her research that trans colleague’s view/perception of workplace support were based by their co-worker’s use of correct title and pronouns, which in turn enhanced or basically improved their work and satisfaction of life. According to Patev et al. (2019), embracing a gender-inclusive language in the workplace is beneficial and offers positive effects to the workplace environment which could benefit both trans and cisgendered individuals’ mental wellbeing. His study also states that people who have a more accepting attitude towards transgender individuals would feel more inclined to communicate in a gender-inclusive manner. The feeling of inclusion and sense of belonging that any trans individual may experience during work can instantly be enhanced due to the adaption of gender-inclusive language in a work environment. A company’s market outcomes of long-term labour such as career advancement and employee retention are particularly influenced by the well-being of a workplace. So, it is important to take action in encouraging correct language use towards transgender individuals at work which may provide a good impact on these employees’ life for a long time (Perales et al., 2022). However, some may argue that gender-inclusive language is unnecessary and that trans people should be the one to accept and follow traditional gender standards conformed in the workplace. They mayalso state that it gets confusing or that it's inappropriate to use gender neutral terminologies as it is not their place to show respect towards the decisions made by trans people. Individuals with a more conservative mindset are likely to have negative attitudes towards transgender people, whereas individuals with a more liberal mindset are likely to have less negative sentiment towards them (Patev et al., 2019). To sum up, embracing and adapting gender-inclusive language in the workplace has shown to benefit both trans and cisgendered individuals. Despite some people disputing against the necessities the benefits offer, utilizing gender-inclusive language is a crucial step in creating a peaceful and harmonious work environment for transgender individuals.

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In conclusion, using gender-inclusive pronouns at work is a difficult but a very important effort. Some of the challenges would more than likely be the fact that employee resistance is brought on by unfamiliarity or even rooted perspectives. Gelpi (2020) claims that while majority of the people in these kind of situations may mean no harm however misinterpreting one’s gender identity or most importantly, getting their pronouns, can be offensive and hurtful. Therefore if it happens repeatedly, it can be considered as workplace harassment or biasness. This is where organizations need to build an environment where the LGBTQ community would feel understood and accepted by offering resources and education to other employees in order to keep a safe and healthy environment. Furthermore, the changing nature of how some people may identify themselves as add another layer of complications hence why workplace should be flexible, sensitive and adaptable enough so that there would be an evolvement of language used and the expressions of identity.

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