Welcome to
AXIS Live.
This is your DEIB toolkit, built for CIB and here whenever you need it. Explore a topic, or drop a real question into the prompt and keep the conversation going, at your own pace, on whatever you're navigating right now.
Ask it. Don't just read it.
Everything here starts from the same foundation: clear definitions, inclusive-language guides, and the concepts and models you'll use across the programme. When you want to go further, use the built-in prompts to keep the conversation going with Copilot, in your own time, about the exact thing in front of you. Start anywhere. Come back anytime.
Someone on my team just told me their pronouns are they/them. I want to get this right, what do I actually need to know?
What's inside.
Pronouns, unpacked.
A personal pronoun is the word someone uses in place of their name, the everyday shorthand others use to refer to them: "she led the deal," "he sent the deck," "they chaired the meeting." Most of us never think about our own, because the world tends to guess them correctly. For many colleagues that guess lands wrong, and being referred to accurately, in the small moments, is part of feeling seen at work.
Pronouns matter for everyone, but they carry particular weight across the LGBTIQA+ community. In particular, transgender, gender non-binary and gender fluid people often use pronouns that differ from the ones others might assume, and "they" is one many people in these groups choose. Getting it right isn't about memorising labels, it's a direct, everyday signal that someone is seen and welcome exactly as they are.
Some people are comfortable with more than one set; some prefer you use their name and skip pronouns altogether. The point isn't to memorise a list, it's to notice, and to ask when you're unsure rather than assume.
"They" isn't new, and it isn't ungrammatical.
English has used the singular they for a single, unknown person for centuries, "someone left their badge at reception" needs no thought at all. Using it for a specific person who asks for it is the same word, applied deliberately. It refers to one person whose gender isn't captured by "he" or "she": someone non-binary, or simply someone who finds it fits them best.
Pronouns have become a visible, and contested, part of the culture. Naming both responses honestly is part of navigating it well.
- A simple, low-cost act of respect that signals a workplace is safe to be yourself in.
- Sharing pronouns in email signatures and introductions normalises it, so the burden doesn't fall only on trans and non-binary people.
- For many, hearing the right pronoun is the difference between bracing and belonging.
- Some feel it's imposed, or worry about "getting it wrong" and being judged for an honest slip.
- Others see it as politicised, or question singular "they" on grammatical grounds.
- Some prefer not to share their own, and can feel pressured when it's expected.
AXIS Live doesn't tell you what to think. It gives you the language and the context to act with confidence, and to lead others through the same, without blame in either direction. The whole point: people move when they feel invited, not indicted.
- Transgender
- A term for someone whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. A transgender person may use pronouns different from those others might assume, and being referred to correctly is a basic part of being respected at work.
- Gender non-binary
- An umbrella term for people whose gender isn't fully captured by "man" or "woman." Many non-binary people use "they/them," though some use other pronouns; the surest approach is simply to go by what a person tells you.
- Gender fluid
- Describes someone whose sense of their gender shifts over time rather than staying fixed. Their pronouns may change too, so a brief, respectful check-in, rather than an assumption, is always welcome.
Every topic works exactly like this. Explore whenever you need it, throughout the programme.
This is a sample. Your full AXIS Live grows with the programme, and is here the moment a real situation lands.
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