A pronoun is a word that refers to either the person who is talking (like “I” or “you”) or someone or something that they are talking about (like “she” “it”, or “them”). Gender pronouns are the ways to refer to someone’s gender identity - except for the fact that we often don’t think a whole lot about them. We usually interpret a person’s gender based on their external appearance and expressions and assign them a pronoun. We may however be completely wrong in making such an assumption. The concept of gender identity is an internal sense of one’s own gender which cannot and should not be judged by looking at them. Additionally, a person may be identified as genderfluid or genderqueer and may not identify along the binary of either male or female. Also, some people identify as both masculine and feminine, or neither. A genderqueer or non-binary identified people generally prefer a gender-neutral pronoun such as the “they”. For instance, “I know Sam. They work in the Finance Department”). Proper use of gender identity terms, including pronouns, is an important way of signaling courtesy and acceptance.
Whether you’re publicly challenging long-held beliefs or experimenting with a new idea, it’s normal to experience fear or discomfort. You can reduce these emotions by creating a workplace that openly promotes change, welcomes honest and productive discussions, sees failure as a necessary part of business success, and rewards and supports risk taking on a daily basis. It may seem ironic, but when you instill a continuous learning culture and growth mindset in your organization, failure can actually lead to success.
• Identify methods to challenge the status quo
• Identify reasons for bias towards encouraging smart failure and suggest solutions
• Enlist ways of encouraging learn from failure culture