An update in Workday is aimed at making the employee experience more inclusive. Today (Sept. 1) employees can choose from an expanded list of individual pronouns and also choose whether to share their pronouns publicly with the ISU community on their worker profile. Previously, Workday offered a limited list of pronouns but no option to share them with colleagues.
"We are excited to collaborate with university human resources on this update and give our employees the ability to represent their identities more accurately in Workday," said Sharon Perry Fantini, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). "Cultivating an inclusive environment is a key component of Iowa State's strategic plan, and using the correct pronouns is a sign of respect and care for your colleagues and students."
Though this update to Workday doesn't apply to other university systems yet, DEI and university human resources (UHR) leaders are hopeful the processes will be streamlined as part of the WorkCyte phase II (Workday student and receivables) modernization of ISU enterprise systems and software. In the meantime, employees can use Workday as a directory to find employee emails, phone numbers, provided photos and other contact information, in addition to their pronouns.
"Improving our systems to reflect Iowa State's commitment to inclusion is an ongoing process and one that we are proud to be part of," said Kristi Darr, vice president of UHR. "This is the first step toward updating our use of pronouns in Workday in preparation for the Workday student and receivables rollout -- when more systems will align and consistently support the identities of our community."
Details on how to select and display pronouns for a Workday profile are in a knowledge base article in the HR service portal. Additional resources about pronouns are on the office of diversity, equity and inclusion website.
