Out of curiosity, why did you assume the team lead is a "she"? OP always used "they", would have not been easier to just follow the initial convention?
Out of curiosity, why did you choose this comment to call out, rather than the numerous other comments that used "he" to refer to the TL?
Because it was the first I saw.
I use "she" when I don't know the gender or "preferred pronoun" of a person in question. Is that bad? It was suggested to me as "polite" by some Cambridge graduates.
My personal pronoun is 'giant cock'. If I was in this situation and you assumed it was 'she', I would be offended.
Assuming it's a 'she' is also a form of automatically mis-gendering someone.
It's a way to be permanently offended I guess. I can play the game that my preferred pronoun is secret but if you don't read my mind and guess it correctly, you become my paper enemy and I will be very very meaninglessly upset in whichever microsecond I happen to think about you.
So are you suggesting because they’re Cambridge grads they are the authority on “polite?” I am not a Cambridge grad, but I find it quite rude to assume a gendered pronoun when one has not been provided.
I have no opinion; my mother tongue is not English and is much more flexible in this regard. I simply followed some well-meant advice from people I respect.
I disagree, i find it to be a point pf clarification but not rude. Perhaps I have a different cultural expectation than you do
Reading your profile I’m not sure your intentions in this comment. Rest assured I am not virtue signaling.
Generally I think it's best to stick with the pronouns that have already been used to refer to the individual (in this case "they").