What is happening? As of June 2, 2025, University of Waterloo students and employees have the option to set or add pronouns (i.e., words we use to replace someone’s name in a sentence, such as “he”, “she”, or “they”) to their Microsoft 365 profile card (the card with your picture or initials in the circle). It may take up to 24 hours before this feature is visible on your Microsoft 365 profile card.
Which M365 services will display pronouns? When added, the pronouns will appear in Microsoft Teams and Outlook (web version) and are visible to members of the University community. Pronouns on the M365 profile card are not synced across any other University system and are not visible to individuals outside of the University.
Important notes
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Use of this feature is optional. Whether or not to share or publicly display pronouns is always up to an individual. Pronouns should never be assigned by one person to another person.
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Pronouns can be added or removed at the individual’s discretion and can be set using the defaults provided or customized to reflect a preferred choice (up to 60 characters).
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Use of these fields is governed by University Policies, e.g., Policy 33 – Ethical Behaviour and Policy 71 – Student Discipline.
Reporting inappropriate use of this feature
Inappropriate behaviour involving the misuse of pronouns, such as repeated misgendering, mocking, or intentionally altering someone’s pronouns against their wishes, can be reported using the EDI-R Advocate tool.
To set/add pronouns or learn more, please see:
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Pronouns FAQ page from the University’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism (EDI-R)
