'A slap in the face': Misgendering and concerns regarding pronoun usage
Karlii Beaulieu is not standing for being misgendered following a recent interaction with her bank.
She says during that conversation, numerous employees misgendered her several times.
“Hearing someone that you’re trusting with your money say ‘Hello, sir’ when you’re clearly female is a slap in the face,” she says.
Beaulieu believes more people and corporations should be learning how to interact with inclusivity in mind.
“We really need to focus on what we can do around that,” she says, “educating more adults on how we can handle the situation better.”
Tory McNally, HR services director for Legacy Bowes, says interactions between employers, employees, and customers are an evolution and should continue to evolve in an inclusive way.
“It will be an ongoing effort that needs to be made throughout people’s lives,” she says, “but I think that anything you can do to further the cause and create that recognition is important.”
“I just think [gender fluidity] is part of who I am, just the same way as any other gender,” says Koda Maxon, a gallery attendant with the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba. They identify as gender fluid with they/them pronouns.
Their journey of self-discovery was one of healing and working on themselves.
“You ask someone what being a woman is in your identity and there might be different answers,” they said. “But it’s not something that’s so black and white to me.”
From an HR perspective, McNally says it’s important for companies not to make assumptions regarding their employees.
“That’s not their entire identity always either. They don’t always want to be the token individual at work who’s answering to those kinds of things,” she adds. “So treat them as a human, treat them as a quote-unquote ‘regular employee’, and allow them to do their jobs the vast majority of the time. Give them the accommodation and the respect that they require when they ask.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.