After being given some official support via an addition to Dictionary.com at the end of last year, Mx, the gender-neutral prefix first proposed in the 1970s, has now finally been adopted by a key local authority.

Oxford City Council has revealed that the honorific (pronounced ‘mix’) will be added to all official forms, appearing alongside Ms, Mrs, Miss and Mr, in a move by councillors to be more inclusive of gender diversity.

The addition follows a review carried out by the council’s Equality and Diversity Group, along with a complaint from Caroline Jordan, headteacher at Headington School in Oxford, who is calling for more neutral terminology to be also used within schools.

During the review, the group found that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff felt reluctant to reveal their sexuality in internal surveys, prompting action to make the council’s policies more inclusive.

Talking to the Independent, Councillor Tom Haynes, Vice-Chair of Oxford City Council Scrutiny Committee, says: “The council’s workforce has been changing to look more like the diverse communities that it serves.

“Good policies have helped to bring this about and tackle discrimination but further improvements are possible. In particular, the Council can take practical steps to build a workplace that’s friendlier to transgender employees, and how we gather together personal information on employees is central to that.”

“Being able to use the correct title can have a large impact on someone's life”: Oxford City Council introduces gender neutral title Mx