"Friends and folks" or "Students and scholars" (as suggested by @Noah Snyder) "People of any and all variety"
You could use everyone or all instead of men and women and distinguished guests or folks instead of ladies and gentlemen.
What is gender-neutral language? Gender-neutral language is simply a way of talking about people without assuming their gender. For example, it's referring to someone you don't know as “they” rather than using the pronoun “he” or “she,” or addressing a group as “everyone” rather than saying, “Hey, guys.”
development of the English language to refer to human beings in general (e.i., mankind, “all men are created equal”). Y'all Means All! Greetings that include gender neutral language such as “friends, folks, y'all, you all, and everyone” ensure that you include all employees when saying hello or opening a meeting.
That is probably the basis of your student's objection. Still, the common way of addressing an audience, “ladies and gentlemen,” is more graceful than “men and women” — although alternative conventions will eventually surface. It is always possible to say, “Good morning, everyone.”
Folks: great for friendly conversations and feels gender-inclusive, but could be a little informal depending on your business environment. People: inclusive and good for formal conversations, but can feel impersonal.
Gender-Neutral Terms for the Workplace
Consider using “Dear customer,” “Dear valued client,” “Hello team,” “Hi all” rather than “Dear sir” or Dear Madam.” And a way to avoid Mr. or Ms. is to simply use Mx.
Titles such as Mr and Mrs indicate binary gender of male or female. Mx is a gender-neutral title that is commonly used by non-binary people.
When writing to a non-binary person in a formal context, you can omit the gendered courtesy titles “Mr.,” “Ms.” or “Mrs.” and instead use the individual's full name. Some people who don't identify with binary gender prefer an alternate courtesy title.
There are four types of gender: Masculine, feminine, common and neuter.
The most common gender-neutral honorific is Mx. (often pronounced 'mix'). This would just be used in place of any other honorific. If it is regular practice in your place of business to use honorifics, you should ask just like you do with pronouns (example: “Hi, my name is Max, or Mr.
Gender-inclusive correspondence
And the salutation usually contains the same courtesy title: “Dear Ms. Brown,” “Dear Mr. Smith.” Moreover, when we don't know the receiver's name, we have been told in the past to use a salutation like “Dear Sir or Madam” in order to include both sexes.
It's a good idea to start your email neutrally. You simply use the recipient's first name or their family name with Mr./Ms. Hi Anna, (…) Hello Ms. Smith, (…)
Addressing a group of people as “guys” isn't gender inclusive. True, the word guys has a gender-neutral sense in Dictionary.com of “persons of either sex; people.” But the most common and prominent meaning of the word is “a man or boy; fellow.” ... We don't have many options for second-person plural pronouns.
Your Highness; neutral, a way of addressing royalty. Heir; neutral, refers to future monarchy. Princex; queer, based on the Prince/ss ending, POC-coined and POC exclusive.
Miss: Use “Miss” when addressing young girls and women under 30 that are unmarried. Ms.: Use “Ms.” when you are not sure of a woman's marital status, if the woman is unmarried and over 30 or if she prefers being addressed with a marital-status neutral title. Mrs.: Use “Mrs.” when addressing a married woman.
Check through your work and replace 'he/she' with 'them' and if addressing letters or emails, use a gender-neutral address such as “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Student/Colleague”.
Ladies and gentlemen
This is a more formal greeting for a group of men and women.
Nonbinary teachers embrace gender-neutral honorific. Educators who identify as neither exclusively male nor female have found “Mx.” to be a more fitting classroom honorific.
The 7 different genders include agender, cisgender, genderfluid, genderqueer, intersex, gender nonconforming, and transgender.