Federal Agencies Instruct Employees to Remove Pronouns from Email Signatures
Federal agency employees have been directed to remove pronouns from their email signatures by Friday afternoon. The instruction comes in response to two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government. Internal memos obtained by ABC News cited the executive orders as the basis for the directive.
“Pronouns and any other information not permitted in the policy must be removed from CDC/ATSDR employee signatures by 5.p.m. ET on Friday,” read a message sent Friday morning from Jason Bonander, the CDC’s Chief Information Officer. “Staff are being asked to alter signature blocks by 5.p.m. ET today (Friday, January 31, 2025) to follow the revised policy.”
Employees at the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy received similar instructions. Staff were told the order was in compliance with an executive directive requiring the removal of DEI-related “language in Federal discourse, communications and publications.” Per ABC News, the directive applied to things like government grant applications and official documents across the department.
The initiative follows Trump’s broader effort to eliminate DEI programs within the federal government. Upon taking office, he signed two orders to end what he called “radical and wasteful DEI programs” and restore “biological truth to the federal government.” These orders were specifically referenced in the messages sent to agency employees.
A memo issued Wednesday by the Office of Personnel Management further instructed agencies to “review agency email systems such as Outlook and turn off features that prompt users for their pronouns.”
