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for most of us our names are personal and part of our identity to who we are in the world. thinking out loud some thoughts i've been having on names and inclusion. 
here's how you say my name: https://namedrop.io/tararobertson it's Tah-rah, not Terra, and about 80% of the time North Americans say it wrong. for a long time it wasn't worth the effort to correct people.
i remember meeting a woman of colour at a conference in my early 20s who took time to ask how to say my name and said that it's a basic level of respect to say someone's name correctly. i mostly started correcting people after that.
i've had a lot of job interviews the past few weeks and it's a small thing that makes a big impression when people start by asking how to say my name. i feel that respect and that sense that i matter enough to them to care.
i've been listening to the things @realcaunsia has been saying about options for Joe Biden's name sign: https://twitter.com/realcaunsia/status/1325832438094966785?s=20
see also: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-10/bidens-popular-new-asl-moniker-looks-like-a-gang-sign-deaf-influencers-warn
see also: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-10/bidens-popular-new-asl-moniker-looks-like-a-gang-sign-deaf-influencers-warn
i'm learning a lot from what she shares, as no community (the Deaf community, the queer community, etc) are homogeneous. names are important.
i'm thinking about how people design systems & how names are handled. can your HR system include someone who only has a first name? a Chinese name & an English name? a name with special characters? how do people need to twist who they are to fit into the db design decisions?
here's two resources of people who've thought about this a whole lot more than me:
http://adventuresinrenaming.net/
https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/
http://adventuresinrenaming.net/
https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/
what does that friction feel like everytime you need to login to your computer or email to use a username that doesn't reflect who you are? like when people mispronounce my name it feels like a small moment where i don't belong.
there can be bigger consequences. @paigecmorgan talked about her experience working at a polling station and how she used her librarian skills to navigate a broken election database: https://twitter.com/paigecmorgan/status/1325558453662855170?s=20
i was delighted to see the Mastercard's True Name credit card which enables trans and non-binary folks to use their chosen name on their credit card:
i'm curious about other examples of products that have had thoughtful and respectful design around names. i'm sure there are other examples out there that i don't know about.
diversity, equity and inclusion aren't just a set of HR practices. these are values that go across the whole business and should be infused into the products and services we build and offer.
