Woke London Labour council bans staff from starting letters and formal emails with ‘Sir/Madam’
WOKE town hall bosses have banned staff from starting letters and formal emails with “Sir/Madam”.
Instead, they must address people as Dear colleagues, Dear partners or Dear council taxpayer as part of a gender-neutral clampdown.
And calling people male or female is ruled to be dehumanising.
The traditional Mr/Miss/Mrs/Ms can be replaced with Mx and “expectant mothers” with “people who become pregnant”.
The changes come in a new 17-page guide produced by Hackney Council in East London.
It advises: “We need to remain adaptable and open to changing our language in the future — an attitude of ‘responsive mindfulness’.”
Staff should use “workforce” rather than “manpower” and they are told: “A meeting has a chair, not a chairman.”
Phrases such as “man up” and “guys” are said to promote gender stereotypes.
And women should not be referred to as emotional, difficult or bossy.
It goes on: “Be aware that not everyone identifies as either male or female.
“Use gender-neutral language like everyone, participants, audience etc instead of ladies and gentlemen when addressing groups.
“In formal correspondence, Dear Sir or Madam is still used when names are not known.
“It is possible to find alternatives which are inclusive of all genders — such as dear colleagues, dear partners, dear council taxpayer etc.
“Terms such as partner are more appropriate than husband or wife.
“Gender-neutral pronouns such as ‘they’ and ‘them’ also work well in general communications to a wide audience.”
Staff who remain unsure can have their document checked by staff network Proud Hackney who will perform a “sensitivity reading”.
Last night the council said: “This guide has been produced to help Hackney Council staff ensure that wherever possible language is used that creates a welcoming environment and fosters a sense of belonging, pursuant to our core value of being inclusive.”