Gender Inclusivity Practices
Supportive practices regarding gender in teaching can help enhance a thriving academic community for all students. This guide incorporates information from student and faculty experience surveys, along with helpful practices, to support all students in Stanford classes.
“Everyone wants to be seen for who they are.” —Stanford student
Quick tips and practices
In Preparation for Teaching
Review and learn students’ names and pronouns via the class roster. Make sure to update your roster as students can make changes during the quarter. Memorizing names and pronouns may only be feasible for small to medium classes, but practices listed under “introductions” can work for larger classes as well.
Introductions
Invite students to introduce themselves early on in the quarter and provide the option for them to share their pronouns, especially with smaller classes and sections.
Consider asking students to share their names and pronouns (if applicable) when speaking up in large classes. This allows instructors and students alike to learn names and pronouns. Additionally, you can have students make and use name tents.
If you can't remember or don't know someone's pronouns, you can always use their names or the pronouns "they/them" as a neutral default.
Making Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes. What’s most important is how you move on from the mistake. First, use the correct name and pronoun immediately. Then, apologize quickly and succinctly. Finally, move on with the content.
“I’m constantly trying to evaluate ‘will I be a burden?’ Your existence is perceived to be a burden [or] a bit of a drag.” —Stanford student
Why learn and use students’ correct names and pronouns?
Students have shared that they may spend a lot of mental energy and time trying to figure out if they should share their pronouns, correct others, advocate for themselves, and point out gendered language. Students face these difficult choices while wondering if this will impact their relationship with their instructor, their grade, or how their peers perceive them. Students sometimes avoid participating in class, going to office hours, or even attending class because of these concerns.
With the goal of enhancing a thriving academic community, supporting students of all genders is necessary to lessen these student concerns and negative experiences.
Faculty, lecturers, academic teaching staff, and teaching assistants often use pronouns when referring to someone in class, writing recommendation letters, and so on. If you truly don’t use personal pronouns in class and use student names instead, that works!
Learning students’ names and pronouns can be difficult, and may not be possible, especially in larger classes. At the same time, using the wrong pronouns could potentially misgender a student, which can be harmful, potentially impacting mental health and academic performance. The practices here provide you with helpful options no matter how large or small your class may be. Students understand that mistakes happen, and the guidance below addresses such instances as well.
“I don’t expect the person at a coffee shop to know my pronouns, but with someone I have a relationship with—a friend, a professor—I feel not seen in that moment, respected or understood.” —Stanford student
Where can I find students’ names and pronouns?
Students are able to update their pronouns in Axess, and their updated pronoun information will be reflected in course rosters in both Axess and Canvas. Student Services provides additional guidance about updating pronouns on their website.
In some cases, students may not yet have updated their information in Axess. It may be helpful to remind students that doing so will help you as an instructor. When you view or download a new roster to account for enrollment changes, it can be a good time to see if students have made new updates or changes to their names and pronouns as well.
“You can’t look at a group of people and assume pronouns.” —Stanford student
What pronouns can appear on rosters and how can I refer to them?
The personal information updates webpage includes the pronoun options that will appear on student rosters.
When using the singular they, the same grammar rules apply as when using this non-gendered pronoun in any situation. Many people automatically use this construction when someone’s gender is unknown, e.g., “Someone forgot their water bottle–I wonder if they have already left or if they are still here.” The use of the singular they/them is now widely accepted and considered grammatically correct. This grammar guide explains more.
Students may also select use my name or ask me about my pronouns, and may do so for a variety of personal and potentially private reasons. It is best not to speculate or inquire about these reasons.
When people indicate that they use multiple pronouns, you can use all of the selected pronouns to affirm them. You can use both pronouns if someone denotes that they use they or she pronouns. Sometimes the order of pronouns does matter. If someone denotes that they use they or she pronouns, this might imply a preference for they over she. In that case, using they would best affirm this student, but she is also acceptable.
For example,
Student: “Hi I’m Jess and I use they or she pronouns.”
Instructor: “Thanks, Jess, for modeling introductions for us. They offered their pronouns, which others are welcome to include as well. Who’s next?”
Some people choose not to use pronouns at all. In that case, you can refer to people by their names. For example, if Jess from the example above had indicated no pronoun use, the instructor could have said instead, “Thanks, Jess, for modeling introductions for us! Jess shared a preference for not using pronouns.”
Pronouns do not indicate one’s gender identity or sexual orientation. These aspects of identity may be distinct from one another.
“My pronouns are about how I want to be addressed, and not a statement about my sexuality or gender identity.” —Stanford student
Do I have to memorize everyone's name and pronoun?
It is not necessarily reasonable for students to expect faculty, lecturers, academic teaching staff, and TAs to memorize everyone's name and pronouns. However, it is important to create an atmosphere that supports the use of students' names and pronouns.
Remembering names and pronouns can be difficult for anyone, especially in large lecture courses. Using students’ names instead of pronouns or using they/them for everyone can work if you practice using names and they/them for everyone, not just for the students you don't know or remember.
Consider these practices to help you and your students remember pronouns and foster a gender-inclusive environment.
- Invite students to share names and pronouns when they speak in class. This helps students in the class learn one another’s names and pronouns. Students should always have the option to decline sharing pronouns, so just make it optional.
- Explain to your students why you think pronouns are important and why you are making an effort to make your course more inclusive.
- Use name tents (large index cards on which students write their names and pronouns, if applicable).
- Update your roster periodically as student names and pronouns can change during the quarter.
“We don't expect faculty to memorize pronouns in the classroom.” —Stanford student
How do I respond to mistakes?
Everyone makes mistakes. And as the student voices above reassure us, students are not expecting perfect memorization. What’s most important is how to move on from the mistake. First, make sure to say the correct pronoun immediately. Then, apologize quickly, succinctly, and sincerely. Finally, move on with the content. This could sound like, “As she said... oops! I’m sorry. As they said…” It’s important not to over-apologize; this can sometimes make the student feel overwhelmed, on the spot, or now responsible for reassuring the person who made the mistake.
If a student makes a mistake about another student's name or pronoun in class, modeling the correct information can help everyone learn and affirm the person who was incorrectly referenced. This could sound like “Professor, he had a good point.” “She had a good point. And yes, that explanation was spot on. Let’s return to our assignment…” It is usually sufficient to model the correct pronoun and avoid overreacting to minor mistakes.
“Correcting yourself is fine. Don’t over-apologize. Better to just not repeat the behavior.” —Stanford student
This guide was initially created in 2022 with input from the Gender Data Enablement Project and accompanied changes in Stanford data systems, which addressed infrastructure needs identified by the Gender Data @ Stanford working group and Gender Inclusive Stanford, part of the Weiland Health Initiative. This guide is now maintained by the Teaching Commons web team.