Pronouns and misgendering: answers to common questions from employers

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock decision in June 2020, which found discrimination because of someone’s transgender status is prohibited under the umbrella of sex discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance expanding on the practical implications. The guidance highlights one form of harassment that can contribute to creating a hostile work environment based on gender identity—misgendering. Here are answers to four common questions employers have about misgendering in the workplace.

What does it mean to misgender someone?

Transgender and nonbinary employees may ask you to refer to them using language that expresses and corresponds with their gender identity, i.e, their internal sense of self and gender. Some people choose to go by a name other than the one their parents gave them at birth. And some people use pronouns that correspond with their gender identity rather than the sex they were assigned at birth. The pronouns might be gendered (e.g., she/her/hers and he/him/his) or nongendered (e.g., singular use of they/them/their; ze/hir/hirs).

Misgendering means intentionally or unintentionally referring to a person with language that doesn’t align with their gender identity. For example, you just hired an employee whose legal name is Alecia. During the onboarding process, the employee informs you he is a transgender man and wishes to be called Alex and referred to using the pronouns “he/his/him.” Calling Alex “Alecia” and using the pronouns “she/her/hers” to refer to the employee would misgender him.