Google Meet has announced a new update that allows meeting participants to display their pronouns on calls.
The update, available when using the video conferencing tool on the web, will show users’ pronouns on their video tiles if they have them set up in their Google Accounts.
Admins will need to enable the feature within users’ accounts, and the feature is only available for Google Workspace subscriptions including Business and Education users, leaving individual account holders without support for pronouns for the moment.
Google Workspace adds pronouns to Meet
Once enabled, end users can set their pronouns by going to their Google Account’s ‘About Me’ page and selecting from a predefined list of pronouns or creating a custom one. Furthermore, users will need to set visibility to ‘Anyone.’
Google’s decision to roll out broader support for pronouns across its ecosystem is part of the company’s broader effort to promote inclusivity – pronouns are also supported alongside contact information in Calendar, Chat, Docs, Gmail and more, making it easier for others to refer to individuals correctly.
It’s worth noting that while the functionality is only supported on web at the moment, users can still set their pronouns on mobile devices, suggesting that Google could be working on UI changes to make displaying pronouns on smaller screens easier, though this is only speculation.
Users are encouraged to ensure their pronouns are up to date in their Google settings in order to promote a more inclusive workplace.
The updates form part of a broader push by Google to keep its online collaboration tools fresh and in line with rivals. Just recently, the company announced support for video messages within Chat as well as transcription for voice messages.
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