English pronouns are only gender-specific in the third person singular. When a person's gender is binary, use
she,
her and
her(
s) for female gender and
he,
him and
his for male gender.
When someone’s gender is non-binary, use that person’s self-identified pronouns, meaning the pronouns with which the person wants to be referred. In English, some people self-identify with the pronouns
they,
them and
their(
s), while others use sets of pronouns that have been introduced into the language to make it more gender-inclusive, like
ze,
hir and
hir(
s), or like
hen,
henom and
hen(
s). In the example below, the writer respects two people’s use of self-identified pronouns.
 | My colleague James Rollins will be waiting for you in the main terminal when you clear customs; James is tall with a beard and they will be carrying a sign with your name on it, so it should be easy to recognize them. |
 | Dr Sara Shields explains why ze believes hir formula would help hir and other scientists to simplify the procedure in an article published last week in a leading journal. |
When the person’s gender is not known or not relevant, as is usually the case for institutional texts at the UB, use
they,
them and
their(
s).
 | Only one student submitted their assignment on time. |
 | Before 15 October, each tutor must speak to the students that they have been assigned. |
Alternatively, rephrase the sentence so that the pronoun is unnecessary or pluralize the subject.
 | Only one student submitted the assignment on time. |
 | Before 15 October, all tutors must speak to the students that they have been assigned. |
Finally, when there is no way of knowing the person’s gender, also use
they,
them and
their(
s). This may happen when you only know the person’s name and that name is a shortened form (Alex for Alexandra or Alexander, or Pat for Patricia or Patrick), a gender-neutral name (Amal, Cameron, Kazumi, Sasha) or a name with different gender associations in different countries (Andrea, Jean, Joan).
 | Dr Pat Sculley explained their personal opinion on the matter. |
 | Jean Stuyvesant said they were pleased with their first art installation in the city of Genoa. |