SAVANAH HERNANDEZ REPORTS: People who list non-binary pronouns on resume less likely to get hired

According to a new study conducted by Business.com, resumes with “they/them” pronouns are more likely to be overlooked by employers. Managers shared that they were “less likely to want to contact an applicant whose resume included 'they/them' pronouns,” per the study.

The study starts off with 400 “non-binary” people who use “they/them” pronouns, asking, “To what extent do you feel that identifying yourself as nonbinary to a potential employer would affect your job search?” Fifty-nine percent of respondents shared that it “hurt their job search,” with another 24 percent sharing that “it would very much hurt.” Only six percent of respondents felt that adding their pronouns would “help” either somewhat or very much.

Organizers of the study then conducted their own test in which they sent two similar resumes to 180 job postings. The only difference between the two resumes was that one contained “they/them” gender pronouns.

The fake applicants were listed as college graduates with all required qualifications for the job being applied for. However, “the test resumes that included pronouns received eight percent less employer interest than the control resumes without pronouns,” per Business.com. The resume with the gender pronouns also led to less requests for phone and screen interviews as well, despite “64 percent of the companies” being Equal Opportunity Employers. 

In the age of “diversity, equity and inclusion,” organizers of the study were appalled by the results. However, many have pointed out some of the reasons why this might be.

Back in October 2021, a Canadian transgender employee who used “they/them” pronouns was fired after complaining of their “wrong gender pronouns being used.” They were then awarded $30,000 dollars after winning a discrimination complaint. 

While Canada’s laws on misgendering people are much more strict than those in the United States, these laws are slowly making their way into the US, with Michigan already trying to make using the wrong gender pronoun a felony that could be finable up to $10,000. 

TikTok has been another popular way for people to look into the minds of the “non-binary” working class, with many pointing to the aggressive attitude of those who get easily offended if their pronouns are used incorrectly. 

In one TikTok, a “genderfluid” actor shares that he was “misgendered” in an email three times leading to him correcting an “administrator in front of her own boss.” 

“I’ve had to defend my own identity,” he shared. “This creates an awkward power dynamic that could have been completely avoided,” he continued in a video created to highlight “how deeply microaggressions and misgendering affect trans people in every facet of life.”

Transgender commentator Blaire White added her own take on the issue, sharing: “I'd imagine giving your employer the chore of addressing you in an entirely unnatural way may be a non-starter I fear.”

In the age of our language being completely rewritten and the LGBTQ community taking “misgendering” as an attack, it’s no surprise that employers are overlooking the applicants that are already making demands before they’re even hired.