2034 - Uptake of Attendee Pronoun Selection at Time of Registration for the 65th ASTRO Annual Meeting

J. D. Domogauer; NYU Langone Health, New York, NY

Purpose/Objective(s): Words have power and influence towards ensuring inclusion and workforce diversity, especially for marginalized communities. Traditionally, many cultures have assigned binary gender pronouns (e.g., “he/him/his” and “she/her/hers”) based on observed physical characteristics that may or may not align with an individual’s gender identity and expression. Intentional efforts to promote sharing of pronouns at the inter-personal, institutional, and organizational levels is important towards ensuring inclusivity, particularly of transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) individuals, and promoting individual wellness. Importantly, research shows that utilization of pronouns can lead to reduced rates of depression and suicidal ideation in TGNB populations. Within scientific and healthcare organizations use of pronoun stickers has become increasingly used at society meetings to promote inclusion for its members. Yet, uptake of this approach has been largely viewed as limited and may fail to promote the importance and normalization of pronoun use. Alternatively, a strategy where pronoun selection is offered to all meeting participants at time of registration may serve to achieve the strategic objective of fostering inclusion. Uptake and impact of this strategy remains largely unexplored, especially at major scientific meetings. Materials/

Methods: At the 64^th ASTRO meeting pronoun stickers were available for meeting participants to place on their name badges; however, awareness and uptake of this strategy appeared limited and was not measurable. Therefore in preparation for the 65^th annual meeting the Sexual and Gender Minority sub-committee of HEDI advocated for pronoun self-identification at the time of meeting registration with inclusion on the participant’s meeting name badge. Self-identification of pronouns was opt-in with choices of: 1) She/Her/Hers, 2) He/Him/His, 3) They/Them/Theirs, 4) Ask me my pronouns, 5) Prefer not to say (this option does not print on your badge).
Results: A total of 9997 individuals registered for the 65^th meeting, of which 6,429 (64.3%) opted into pronoun self-identification. ‘He/him/his’ was the most commonly selected pronoun (38.1%, n=2449), followed by ‘prefer not to say’ (36.7%, n=2361), ‘she/her/hers’ (24.7%, n=1590), ‘ask me my pronouns’ (0.2%, n=15), and ‘they/them/theirs’ (0.2%, n=14).
Conclusion: A majority of program registrants engaged with pronoun self-identification at time of registration, although overall minority (40.7%) selected an option that was printed on their name badge. Adding pronouns options at registration is a significant and meaningful step towards building gender inclusivity and equitability, and is in direct alignment with ASTRO’s commitment towards D.E.I. and the 66^th meeting mission of “Targeting Provider Wellness”.