US University Fires 2 Employees For Using Pronouns In Emails: Report

In a shocking incident, a New York university fired two employees for using pronouns in their individual email signatures, as per a report in Independent. Residence hall directors Raegan Zelaya and Shua Wilmot at Houghton University were sacked in April after they used "she/her" and "he/him" in their email signatures.

As per the report, the university informed Ms Zelaya that she had been fired just before the semester ended "as a result of your refusal to remove pronouns in your email signature" and because she had attacked the decision in the student newspaper. The letter of termination was widely circulated.

According to Mr Wilmot, he was charged with making a "threat" against the general superintendent of the Wesleyan Church. Mr Wilmot had also expressed his concerns about the church's old-fashioned and problematic ideas on gender identity and expression in what he called a "constructive letter" to Superintendent Wayne Schmidt.

In a video released last month, the former directors explained that they decided to include pronouns in emails as a sign of inclusion because many recipients couldn't identify someone's gender from their first name.

Mr Wilmot said in the video, "Calling people by the name they like to be called, using the pronouns that they use, that's just a way to dignify them and humanize them. By normalizing the visiblity of pronouns in an email signature, I can play a small role ... in empowering others to also share their pronouns in an email signature, thus it normalizes a less emotional labourious way for gender-expansive people to out themselves."

"It is pretty standard industry practice to include your pronouns in your email signature," Ms Zelaya said in the clip. 

As per a report in New York Times, their dismissal coincides with Houghton University's increasing alignment with religious conservatism at well-known Christian universities like Liberty University in Virginia and Hillsdale College in Michigan. About two years ago, Houghton University also closed its multicultural student centre. A student LGBTQ+ club that refused to promote more conservative language on gender and sex was also no longer recognised by the university. 

A spokesperson for the university told the outlet that it "has never terminated an employment relationship based solely on the use of pronouns in staff email signatures". "Over the past years, we've required anything extraneous be removed from email signatures, including Scripture quotes," he said.