The US State Department has issued a directive requiring employees to remove gender-identifying pronouns from email signature blocks by 5 p.m. today. This instruction, part of a broader initiative to eliminate "gender ideology" from government communications, was announced by Tibor P Nagy, the acting under-secretary for management and former ambassador. The directive aligns with former President Trump's executive order aimed at revising diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) language in federal discourse.
In addition to email signatures, the directive mandates a review of training materials, forms, and plans across State Department bureaus. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also instructed staff to stop processing applications that request the gender identity marker "X" for passports and official documents. This instruction similarly ties back to the executive order. The State Department, which employs approximately 77,840 staffers, has not disclosed how many employees currently use gender identifiers in their email signatures.
Other federal agencies have echoed similar directives, including the Department of Energy, which explicitly referenced Trump's executive order in its communication. The Department of Transportation issued its directive amidst managing a plane crash near Ronald Reagan National Airport. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also received similar instructions as part of the initiative to incorporate the executive order's stipulations across government entities.
"The Department of State is reviewing all agency programs, contracts and grants that promote or incubate gender ideology." – Tibor P Nagy
This comprehensive review initiated by the State Department is part of a larger strategy to align federal communications and operations with the executive mandate. It reflects an administration-wide effort to reassess and potentially reshape how gender-related language and identifiers are used within government frameworks.