Federal employees must eliminate pronouns from their email signatures
WASHINGTON ‒ On Friday, federal workers across various departments received an order to remove personal pronouns from their email signatures before 5 p.m. as part of implementing President Donald Trump’s directive against promoting gender ideology.
An email sent to employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which was seen by YSL News, tasked them with “recreating their signatures” in adherence to Trump’s executive order and a newly revised style guide that eliminates pronouns.
ABC News reported that staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Transportation also received similar notifications. The New York Times added that personnel at the State Department, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Veterans Affairs were also given this instruction.
A memo from the Office of Personnel Management released on Wednesday instructed federal department heads to eliminate any regulations, forms, communications, and webpages that “instill or promote gender ideology” by Friday evening.
The memo, which YSL News acquired, instructed agencies to inform employees whose roles involve “promoting gender ideology” that they would be placed on paid leave and to ensure that all agency documents and policies use the term “sex” instead of gender, among other measures.
The CDC has already begun updating its website to remove sections discussing health disparities faced by LGBTQ youth and resources supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
Similarly, the State Department has altered its travel advisory webpage by dropping the term “LGBTQ” in favor of “LGB,” which stands for lesbian, gay, and bisexual.
This memo arrives amidst a series of actions by Trump aimed at reversing transgender rights introduced by the previous Biden administration.
Trump has enacted executive orders that prevent the federal government from facilitating gender transitions for individuals below the age of 19 and prohibits transgender service members from serving in the military.
(This article has been updated with further details.)
