September 18, 2018

Subject: Legislative Business Cards with Gender Pronouns

The LGBTQ community is diverse in nature. Gender is the internal sense of being a
woman, man, nonbinary, agender, two-spirit, or more – which can diverge from the label
a person was assigned at birth.

Workplaces have gradually taken steps to affirm individuals of different sexual
orientations; however, nonbinary or transgender people are still institutionally
marginalized at work. The Capitol LGBTQ Association is devoted to ensuring that
everyone in the Capitol community feels safe and validated in the workplace. A priority
of the Association has always been, and always will be, inclusion. Thus, we are
delighted to hear that the California State Assembly and Senate now have provided the
option of including pronouns on legislative business cards! We encourage all
employers to make this an option for staff who identify within the gender spectrum, and
applaud those who have already taken steps to include pronouns.

Using the correct pronouns is the first step in acknowledging and respecting a person’s
gender. Pronouns on business cards allows cisgender, gender nonconforming, and
transgender people alike to display how they’d like to be addressed. The Association is
taking active steps to normalize the use of pronouns in everyday life. We advocate for
gender inclusion, in all its forms, so our nonbinary and transgender community
members can feel seen and empowered.

If an individual or an employer would like best practices or advice on how to be more
inclusive, including on how to be display gender pronouns, we recommend reaching out
to the California Legislative LGBT Caucus and/or visiting this Human Rights Campaign
resource for more information.

Sincerely,

The Capitol LGBTQ Association Board of Directors