At T-Mobile, #BeYou has become an employee mantra — so much so that it’s displayed on magenta-painted walls in company hallways around the country. But it’s more than just a catchphrase. It’s representative of the company’s longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion that is truly part of its DNA. With this in mind, senior leaders are always open to new ways to support employees who want to better express who they are. That’s why, starting November 6, T-Mobile is launching new optional name badges for all retail employees that can include employees’ personal pronouns. Employees at T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile retail stores can choose to add any of the following options:

This is just another way for employees to express who they are, in addition to already having the option to add their military affiliation (veteran or active duty), and up to four languages that they speak. The inclusion of pronouns will help give another outlet for employees to be their authentic selves in the workplace, be addressed as they wish and help create even more connection and engagement with customers.

And it all began with an email from a retail employee.

The ability to be herself is one of the many reasons that Tiffanie Moton, Truck Store Manager, was eager to join T-Mobile back in 2017. As a gay woman and long-time advocate for diversity, inclusion and LGBTQ+ issues, she knew that the company offered her the opportunity to bring her whole self to work, and to share feedback on ways to make the company even more inclusive. T-Mobile’s reputation for acting on feedback from employees — whether the end goal was providing better customer experiences or making it an even better best place to work — was a huge draw.

Tiffanie was inspired by a coworker who was transitioning, who did not want to be referred to as he or she. Tiffanie realized that a simple addition to name tags would help this employee from being misgendered and is an easy solution to bringing up the pronoun conversation.

After meeting Jon Freier, T-Mobile’s Executive Vice President of Consumer Markets, at a World Pride in New York City over the summer, Tiffanie sent a follow-up email with an idea to add pronouns to name badges — citing wording from MyPronouns.org to help her explain the importance.