Summary
Federal employees at multiple agencies were ordered to remove pronouns from email signatures by Friday, following executive orders signed by Donald Trump to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Agencies including the CDC, Department of Transportation, and Department of Energy issued directives citing the new policy.
Some employees expressed frustration, with one CDC worker calling it unprecedented.
The Office of Personnel Management also instructed agencies to disable pronoun prompts in email systems, marking another step in Trump’s broader rollback of DEI initiatives.
Pronouns should be used at the discretion of the individual. They should be able to choose who receives them, how it’s relayed, and what the pronouns will be. They should be able to change them whenever they want.
Putting this into a database such as active directory isn’t simple when it has requirements that I’ve stated.
It’s sometimes easier to just let the individual maintain their own signature.
We use a third party tool and a custom schema. Users can use a simple agent to update pronouns or make other adjustments like display their direct line. Works great, AD is still the source of truth.
