The bank has told customers unhappy with the initiative they are ‘welcome to close’ their accounts
Halifax is seemingly locked in a game of cat and mouse with its customers after an announcement that it was adding pronouns to staff name badges didn’t go down well with everyone.
The bank shared a photo on Twitter on Wednesday of a name badge for an employee called ‘Gemma’, with the pronouns “she, her, hers” printed underneath.
Halifax captioned the picture, “pronouns matter #ItsAPeopleThing”.
Pronouns matter. #ItsAPeopleThing pic.twitter.com/vj9UdlBnLy
— Halifax (@HalifaxBank) June 28, 2022
While a lot of people supported it, or at least didn’t see any reason to take offence with people having the “choice to display their pronouns”, not everyone was so willing to accept the change.
They're giving people the choice to display their pronouns, how is this a bad thing?
— Phil G (@PhilipGrainger) June 29, 2022
In a response to some criticism, Halifax told customers to close their accounts if they disagree with its stance.
One person tweeted the bank, asking: “How do I close my account?” Halifax replied: “You can close your account by calling us on 0345 720 3040 or putting your request in writing to: Halifax Account Closure Team, PO Box 548, Leeds, LS1 1WU.”
Halifax said the measure was brought in to prevent “accidental misgendering” and said it was “optional”.
One person said there is “no need” for the move, adding they will be “blocking” the bank on Twitter.
Another asked: “Isn’t “Gemma” so obviously a she/ her that it doesn’t need stating?”
Despite the backlash from some, many customers were quite supportive of the initiative and the need to avoid “misgendering someone”.
Indeed, politeness and courtesy matter. Casually misgendering someone is not polite or courteous. So pronouns *do* matter.
— Frances 'Cassandra' Coppola (@Frances_Coppola) June 29, 2022
Writer and speaker on banking, finance and economics, Cassandra Schadenfreude, wrote: “Indeed, politeness and courtesy matter. Casually misgendering someone is not polite or courteous. So pronouns *do* matter.”
Explaining the decision to some people on twitter, Halifax said: “We want to create a safe and accepting environment that opens the conversation around gender identity. “We care about our customers and colleagues individual preferences, for us it’s a very simple solution to accidental misgendering.”
The bank also said the option to add pronouns to staff badges was “completely optional.”
A Halifax spokesperson told LBC: “We want to create a safe and accepting environment that opens the conversation around gender identity. We care about our customers’ and colleagues’ individual preferences so, for us, it’s a very simple solution to accidental misgendering.”
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