Offering a more personalized and inclusive communication experience for Washington State University faculty, staff, and students, Microsoft 365 now allows for the addition of preferred pronouns on the Microsoft Teams and Outlook on the Web profile card.
Customizing the Microsoft 365 profile card is an optional process. WSU users have the flexibility to choose if they want to include this information, as well as which pronouns they prefer to display. With this process being voluntary, WSU, in partnership with Information Technology Services, furthers its commitment to respecting the individual identities and preferences of the university community.
To learn more about this feature and how to enable pronouns, please review this WSU Knowledge Base article.
When enabled, pronouns will appear next to a user’s display name in the top section of their profile card in both Teams and Outlook on the Web. Pronouns will be visible to all WSU Microsoft 365 users; the option to selectively hide pronouns from certain WSU individuals is not available at this time.
Pronouns on the Microsoft 365 profile cards are not visible to users from external organizations, preserving WSU user privacy and securing user identity details within the university’s Microsoft 365 environment.
This pronoun feature is also exclusive to WSU’s Microsoft 365 environment and does not extend to other WSU platforms or applications. Pronouns configured in Microsoft 365 will not impact pronoun settings configured in myWSU, Canvas, and other applications.
By facilitating accurate pronoun use, this feature fosters trust, validation, and respect for the diverse identities of WSU users. The option to display pronouns also serves to enhance broader, comprehensive efforts for supporting diverse gender communities at WSU. Aligning with the university’s goals of encouraging inclusive practices, this change helps develop a more welcoming virtual space that not only actively works to prevent misgendering, but also ensures all members of the WSU community are supported and respected.
For more information on Microsoft’s pronoun feature, please contact Crimson Service Desk at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or 509-335-4357.