The silence of pronouns: a critical signaling theory approach to environmental organizations’ online inclusion of linguistic gender markers

Websites are critical platforms for environmental organizations to communicate their values and commitments to justice. This study examines how organizations in Buffalo, NY, signal gender inclusivity by using pronouns on their websites, using Critical Signaling Theory as a framework. Our analysis of organizational websites found that only 6.9% included pronouns in staff bios, and when present, their usage was inconsistent. This reflects a broader pattern of superficial diversity efforts, mirroring previous findings on racial representation. Our findings highlight the need for environmental organizations to not only approach environmental justice intersectionally but to signal a welcoming and inclusive space through linguistic cues like staff and board member personal pronouns. We argue that doing so is especially important in countries where leadership has been explicitly exclusionary to transgender and gender nonconforming people.