APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
____________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
REVISED
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. _______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY CITY ATTORNEY BARBARA J. PARKER,
MAYOR LIBBY SCHAAF, CITY ADMINISTRATOR EDWARD D.
REISKIN, COUNCIL PRESIDENT NIKKI FORTUNATO BAS,
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE SHENG THAO, AND
COUNCILMEMBERS LOREN TAYLOR AND TREVA REID
RESOLUTION CALLING ON MICROSOFT CORPORATION TO
ALLOW USERS TO DESIGNATE THEIR PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN
THEIR MICROSOFT TEAMS’ USER PROFILES
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland is committed to upholding and furthering the rights, protections, dignity, and inclusion of all of its residents and City staff; and
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland has one of the highest concentrations of LGBTQ+ people in the United States, and is estimated to have the greatest percentage of transgender and nonbinary persons of any other metropolitan area in the United States; and
WHEREAS, LGBTQ+ communities of color have been part of anti -racist social movements in Oakland contributing to the advancement of human and civil rights for all in our City; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, the City Council passed Resolution No. 88320 C.M.S., establishing a policy to conduct City affairs in a manner that uses gender -inclusive language, including non - gendered language and gender-neutral pronouns where appropriate; and
WHEREAS, since the onset of the COVID -19 pandemic in March 2020 , the City has relied heavily on Microsoft Teams (“Teams”) to operate and transact business on behalf of the people of Oakland as many City employees work remotely to protect their health and safety; and
WHEREAS, unlike many of the nation’s other online meeting platforms, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Slack, and Zoom , Teams does not allow users to designate their pronouns in their user profiles; and
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WHEREAS, the unavailability of a pronoun option on Teams creates a meeting environment that is not conducive to inclusivity of all users and is particularly unwelcoming to people who are non-binary, transgender, or gender-non-conforming; and
WHEREAS, California’s State Fair Employment and Housing Act regulations require that employers honor an employee’s request to be identified with a preferred gender, name, and or pronoun and to accommodate changes in an employee’s name and pronoun usage; and Microsoft’s failure to include a pronoun option in Teams impairs employers’ ability to fulfill this legal requirement; and
WHEREAS, Microsoft users have been calling on Microsoft Corporation to add a pronoun option since at least 2020, but Microsoft has failed to provide this option; and
WHEREAS, on April 1, 2022, the Mayor, City Administrator, and City Attorney sent a letter to Microsoft Corporation Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella urging Microsoft to add an option for Microsoft Teams users to designate their pronouns in their user profiles ; and a copy of that letter is attached to this Resolution as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, Microsoft has failed to respond to this request despite the passage of more than two months; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: The City Council calls on Microsoft Corpora tion to immediately add an option allowing users of Microsoft Teams to designate their personal pronouns in their user profiles; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Council directs the City Administrator or their designee to send a copy of this Resolution to Microsoft Corporation Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella with a cover letter.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, KALB, KAPLAN, REID, TAYLOR, THAO AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California