Microsoft is making it easier for employees who use Microsoft 365 to show their preferred pronouns. In a LinkedIn message (via OnMSFT), Microsoft Corporate Vice President Ashok Kuppusamy revealed this week that people will be able to share their pronouns in Microsoft 365 starting in March.
In his post, Kuppusamy explained why this feature is being added:
There has been significant demand from our customers for additional capabilities to support personal expression, and at Microsoft we are also eager to make use of this feature within our own organization. This feature has many uses, but at its core, it creates the conditions to help prevent misgendering for transgender and nonbinary people. The impact of misgendering is well-documented; inclusive products and services are one critical element to supporting a culture where employees are respected and valued in the workplace. We are grateful to the engineering teams and working teams of internal and external experts, who have been so thoughtful in bringing this feature to market.
He added that Microsoft knows this type of feature cannot be used in all companies or regions of the world. That"s the reason why it will automatically be turned off by default so that IT administrators have to make the choice to turn it on. Also, even if it is put in place, individual employees will also have the choice of whether or not to use it.
In addition to this new Microsoft 365 feature, employees will also have the choice sometime in the future to share their pronouns inside a Microsoft Teams meeting. So far, there"s no word on when that functionality will be included.
This news comes only a few weeks after we learned that Microsoft is working on a way to add pronouns to the profile card of Outlook web clients