What is a polite but slightly 'smack down' way to correct?I work in a male dominated industry and am tired of being addressed as 'sir' and 'mr' in emails?
You're not alone! Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Rosie O'Donnel all have complained about the exact same issue. Bad news is that its difficult to change, but the good news is that... I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance.
Have your auto signature set to include your first name. If that still doesnt help then reply back to whomever addressed you as "Mr." that you will forward the email on to your father / husband. They will get the message pretty quick and you will probably get an apology too.I work in a male dominated industry and am tired of being addressed as 'sir' and 'mr' in emails?
Examples of how the emails are written and who all they go to would help. It seems a little archaic since most businesses now use "Dear sir or madam" or "To Whom it May Concern."
Anyways, to the point, this sounds like an HR issue. You should take it up with your HR rep and have them address it for you. This way avoids anyone feeling attacked or obtaining a label for yourself as being "difficult." And no one likes having HR come back for anything like that. If it continues, then HR has already stepped in, so then it becomes an issue for the individuals who don't adjust to the request.
The best way to remedy the problem is NOT with a smack down of any magnitude. A polite response stating your gender would be best. Request you be addressed as Ms., Miss, Mrs., Ma'am, Madam or whatever the feminazis believe to be politically correct at the time. Can your first name be for a male or female. That would cause some confusion. You do, I would guess, want to be professional about it.
The fact that you are looking for a "smack down" style of stating indicates underlying issues of gender anger. Equal rights are all well and good. Equal being the key word. No special considerations for race, gender and religion. Tighten up, Ms., with an attitude like yours, you probably will not advance too far. Lose the chip.I work in a male dominated industry and am tired of being addressed as 'sir' and 'mr' in emails?
I take it your name is non-gender specific, such as Leslie or Hillary, instead of something like Joan or Linda. The key is to be subtle, but direct. There is no need to use a sledge hammer on a thumbtack, or biting sarcasm. I suggest you simply reply as a courtesy and at the bottom, just sign with your full name and title, as in "Miss Sandy Harper." Make sure there is a blank line both above and below your full name and title. I had a friend named Sandy (not Harper) who had this exact same problem in the company where she worked. Sandy is non-gender specific. And she would do the same thing again, a simple courtesy reply if it happened a 2nd time. Of course, the 3nd time the same person did this, there would be no excuse and the biting sarcasm came out of my friend to no end... There is no excuse for a repeated failure because of stupidity. In my opinion, being stupid is not learning from your mistakes.
"Oh, please! There's no need to be so formal! Simply call me Sylvia!"
If as another answerer said, you've got a gender-neutral name, then I would also suggest signing your e-mails with a simple: Ms. Sylvia Answerer.
Hope that helps!
I ignore any correspondence from people who do that. That's how I get back at them. Then if they contact you by phone, they'll know you're a woman. Just tell them you didn't get or don't recall any such e-mail. A little passive agreessive, maybe, and slightly dishonest, but that's my suggestion.
