How to use your email signature to celebrate Pride
15 June 2023
June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. According to Wikipedia, June is dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride. Modern-day Pride Month both honors the movement for LGBT rights and celebrates LGBT culture.
We’ve compiled some ideas to show your support, starting with updating your email signature with pronouns.
Why use an email signature with pronouns?
When every employee can add their own pronouns to their email signatures, it sends out a strong message of support to transgender and non-binary employees. It also tells your staff, clients, and customers that your organization respects everyone, regardless of gender.
So, use Pride Month as a prompt to introduce pronouns into email signatures across your organization.
The importance of an email signature with pronouns
An email signature with pronouns is a clear signal that your organization is comfortable with people sharing their preferred pronouns and that you’re open to conversations about gender and inclusivity in the workplace.
It also helps to avoid misgendering someone and can be a great way to educate people less familiar with the concept of pronouns beyond the binary.
How to include pronouns in email signatures
Pronoun preferences are highly individual, appearing after a person’s name in their email signature. Brand consistency is essential for building trust and credibility, so making a change like this through centralized email signature management ensures everyone stays on-brand, regardless of their pronouns.
The different ways people may want to update their email signature with pronouns include:
Binary pronouns
He/him/his
She/her/hers
Non-binary pronouns
They/them/theirs
Ze/Hir/Hirs
Gender-neutral pronouns
Ze/Hir/Hirs
Xe/Xem/Xyrs
Other pronoun options
He/she
She/he
Ey/em/eirs
Ze/zem/zers
Using gender pronouns in an email signature positively
Encouraging people to add pronouns into their email signatures demonstrates a positive commitment to gender diversity. However, make sure to introduce the change clearly, so everyone understands that updating their email signature with pronouns is optional. Some people will prefer not to disclose their gender and that should always be their choice.
It’s also important that this suggestion is discussed respectfully among cisgender colleagues who may not understand why they might want to update their email signature with pronouns.
There’s lots more on this in our guide on how to use gender pronouns in email signatures positively.
What is a Pride email signature?
There are plenty of other ways to be creative with your Pride Month email signature.
Add a rainbow flag to your logo and email signature banner
The rainbow flag is the recognized symbol of LGBTQIA+ support. Adding one to your logo or adapting your website banner to incorporate rainbow colors is a nice way to show you’re on board with Pride.
The original Pride flag has been updated since it was first designed in the 1970s so make sure you’re using the most recent version. This now includes additional stripes to represent all the communities within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
You can also use the Pride flag for email signature updates, so your show of support reaches everyone who receives an email from your organization throughout June.
Showcase support for LGBTQI+ charities and events
The best LGBTQIA+ allies take meaningful actions, so why not choose a relevant LGBTQIA+ charity to support and promote throughout June?
Make a simple donation from your organization or organize a fundraising event that involves colleagues and clients.
Highlight your Pride Month activities
Use your Pride Month email signature to promote your fundraising activities with a graphical banner that clicks through to a donate or sponsorship page.
And if you’re taking part in any Pride parades or have other activities organized, include them in your Pride email signature too.
Shout about the content you’ve created for Pride
Make sure content, products, and services you already have in place relevant to the LGBTQIA+ community are clearly signposted during Pride Month along with anything that’s been specially created.
You might want to collate all your Pride content into one accessible area and then highlight it on your website homepage and in a targeted campaign within your Pride email signature.
Align with your company policies
Of course, advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community all year round is far more meaningful than a Pride email signature. If you’re representing your organization as an LGBTQIA+ ally during Pride Month, back up your claim with substantive actions.
This should include company policies that ensure equality for all employees, protection from discrimination, and access to appropriate healthcare specific to LGBTQIA+ needs.
You could also survey the causes and companies you engage with to ensure you’re not supporting individuals or organizations that undermine LGBTQIA+ rights. And talk to employees about introducing resources to support LGBTQIA+ communities inside and outside your organization throughout the year.
How to celebrate Pride month - key takeaways
Pride Month is a great opportunity to support LGBTQIA+ communities. So, make sure to:
Encourage employees to include their pronouns in their email signatures
Amplify your Pride message by adding Pride flags to logos, websites, and emails
Organize and promote fundraising events and other Pride activities
Promote and support LGBTQIA+ charities
Collate all your Pride content into one place
Align your company policies with Pride activities for meaningful allyship
Extend your support for LGBTQIA+ beyond Pride Month
Supercharge your email signatures
When Pride Month is over, continue to make the most of your email signatures with the best email signature software on the market. Exclaimer makes it easy to introduce changes like preferred gender pronouns across your organization in just a few clicks.
You’ll also be able to:
Simplify your email signature management
Ensure brand consistency
Amplify your marketing channels
Drive customer success
Maintain legal compliance
Use targeted signature banners in support of email campaigns
So, let Exclaimer give you effortless consistency everywhere. Find out more about our product or book a demo today.
