It used to be common to use masculine pronouns in all business communication. That is no longer acceptable. Many writers now use the format ‘he/she’ or even ’s/he’. This is well-intentioned but not ideal. Let’s look at an example:-

Well, this is clearly sexist as we are assuming that the worker is male. If you write something like this you have insulted all the female sales reps in your audience. Let’s hope you’re not trying to sell anything!

This is better but looks a bit forced. It sounds clumsy and too formal. Can we avoid sexism and bad writing at the same time?

This is much better. It avoids both sexism and clumsiness and comes across as more personal.

You can avoid sexism by using the third person plural too.

Of course, if you know that all the directors are male or all are female you can quite correctly say

Don’t assume that all secretaries are women and all construction workers are men. They are not.

In 2008 we don’t use words like ‘air hostess’ or ‘stewardess’. The suffix ‘-ess’ suggests something less. We use the term ‘Flight Attendant’. We don’t use the term ‘chairman’, we use ‘chairperson’ or even simpler, ‘chair’.

In writing the term ‘Ms’ refers to a woman without referring to her marital status. After all, whether or not a woman is married has no relevance to the world of business. Some women prefer to be addressed as ‘Mrs’ or ‘Miss’ and, of course, this should always be respected. But if in doubt, use ‘Ms’.

Some people (usually men) think we should not change the language in this way. But it is not about ‘political correctness’. It is about efficient business communication. If you write from a male oriented point of view, you will alienate half your readers. How good is that for business?