Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion
At McAllister Olivarius, we respect, welcome and advocate for people of all races, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexualities and genders. As we continuously expand our understanding of social equality in an ever-evolving world, we commit to standing with transgender and non-binary individuals. To reflect this commitment, McAllister Olivarius employees and staff have begun to include their personal pronouns in their email signatures and website biographies, a move which the firm fully supports.
In the 1970s, feminists’ campaign to be addressed as Ms, rather than Mrs or Miss, was a crucial advance for the recognition of women as persons independent of their marital status. Today, we see identifying a person’s pronouns as an important step in the fight for a world in which people can live as themselves free from restrictive gender norms. It is not always possible to tell a person’s gender based upon their name or external appearance, and listing a person’s pronouns is a simple signifier to others of how that person likes to be addressed.
We work every day to actively support those who have been fundamentally disrespected due to their identity, and our practices must reflect the legal and institutional changes for which we advocate. Just as using the appropriate title for someone – be it Ms, Mrs, Mx, or Dr – is a way to signify respect, we understand that using someone’s correct and declared pronouns is a necessary aspect of respecting their personhood. When we add our pronouns to our signatures, we’re taking the guesswork away and committing to an inclusive work environment so that we can step forward together on our life-long journey toward equity and justice for all.