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14.02 Elimination of Sexual Stereotyping, Correspondence; names and forms of address

The form preferred or used by the person being addressed or referred to should be retained if it is known. Otherwise, the following guidelines should be applied in order to ensure uniform and equal treatment of the sexes.

  • In formal correspondence, use Ms., Mrs., Miss or Mr. When the addressee is a woman, and her preference cannot be ascertained, use Ms.:

    Dear Ms. Samuels:

  • If the gender of the addressee is not known, begin your reply with "Dear" followed by the person’s initials and surname:

    Dear J. D. Simmonds:

    Where the name of the addressee is not known, use the form "Dear Sir/Madam" or "Dear Madam or Sir."

  • When writing to an organization or to unspecified individuals, use an inclusive salutation:

    Dear Members of the Rotary Club:
    To the Consumer Relations Department:
    To whom it may concern:

An alternative is to use the memo format and omit the salutation.

See also 10.17 Salutation or greeting.

14.03 Parallel treatment

When the names of a woman and man are mentioned together, use parallel language so that men and women are portrayed as equals:

  • Alan Knight and Joyce Philips
  • J. Philips and A. Knight
  • Knight and Philips
  • Joyce Philips, the engineer, and Alan Knight, the journalist

not

  • Mrs. J. Philips and Alan Knight

or

  • Alan Knight, the journalist, and Mrs. J. Philips

Ensure parallel treatment of couples:

  • Mr. and Mrs. James and Irene Luciano
  • James and Irene
  • Mr. and Mrs. Luciano
  • James and Irene Luciano

not

  • Mr. and Mrs. James Luciano

or

  • James Luciano and his wife Irene

Ensure parallel treatment of work associates:

  • Raymond Kovacs and his assistant Karen White
  • Margaret Thompson, Vice-President, and her executive secretary Bill White

not

  • Mr. Kovacs and his assistant Karen
  • Margaret Thompson, Vice-President, and her executive secretary Bill

Alternate order of reference so that one sex is not always given second place:

  • Karen White and her immediate superior, Raymond Kovacs
  • Joyce Philips and Alan Knight
  • Mr. White and Ms. Thompson

In distribution and other lists, use alphabetical order or list according to rank.