Preferred gender pronouns used for first time in New Year Honours list

Preferred gender pronouns have been used in the New Year Honours list for what is believed to be the first time.

Monica Fitzpatrick, deputy principal of the Equality and LGBT Policy Unit in the Northern Ireland Executive, has been listed with “she/her” next to her name on the list.

There is a growing trend of specifying preferred gender pronouns, with some people preferring to be addressed as they or them, while others prefer gender-specific pronouns.

The Cabinet Office said the New year’s Honours List was the most ethnically diverse to date, but that there is “more work to be done” to ensure women are properly represented among the highest awards.

While 47.9 per cent of recipients were women, that figure fell to just 35.9 per cent when it came to honours at CBE level and above.

In some previous years, more than 50 per cent of honours have gone to women.

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