Dear Sirs

[Anglika]

I think you have already got the answer.

Dear superiors,


superior is unisex.

They may be superior in the hierarchy of the company, but one would never use the word in this way.

[euncu]

Is it appropriate to say "Dear co-workers" to your superiors?

[Tdol]

I wouldn't because it suggests that you and they are at the same level in the hierarchy and some might feel it's a bit of a put-down or cheeky.

[kfredson]

I work in a corporate atmosphere in France and sent a group email to a bunch of people including two women.

The email started with "Dear Sirs". This annoyed one of the women, who happens to be English.

I'm afraid that I may have assimilated too much French, though the email was in English, and can no longer remember what would have been more appropriate. Personally, though I'm told that "Dear Sirs" is considered sexist, I cannot understand why.

Anyway, my point is that I don't know how I should have started the email.

"Dear Sirs and Madams" sounds awful.

"Ladies and Gentlemen" seems trite. It sounds as though I'm announcing a stage show.

What would have been more appropriate?

Many thanks

One alternative that I see more frequently in the U.S. is "Dear Friends," especially if it is, in fact a letter -- say, attached to an email. I agree that we tend nowadays to treat emails themselves as intrinsically less formal than letters. They might more naturally begin with "Hello all" -- or with nothing at all.

Comrades doesn't work, I'm afraid, but "colleagues" certainly is also appropriate.

Now that English has spread so widely in business circles around the world, it would be interesting to see what our friends in India or Malaysia or China would say on this topic. Isn't it more formal in the East, especially when dealing with those we might consider "superiors"?

[Raymott]

One alternative that I see more frequently in the U.S. is "Dear Friends," especially if it is, in fact a letter -- say, attached to an email.

"Dear Friend" (singular) means that the sender is anything but your friend. My experience of "Dear Friend" letters in Australia is that the sender either wants to sell you something, wants to take your money without selling you something, or wants to convert you to their religion.
So "Dear Friends" sounds non-genuine, by association.
In any case, it's inappropriate in a work context.