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It's not uncommon, I've seen it a lot in England. If the group is 100% women, a lot of people would say "hey girls". It seems far less common in the US. But yes, "guys" is used as a gender-neutral "group of people". We also do it sometimes in french.

As for whether it's PC/anti-pc/whatever, this is really down to the intent behind it and how it's perceived by the recipients. If you're a woman, addressing other women as "guys", there's no ill intent (and none received). It's far more offensive to have someone else police your words...



> It's far more offensive to have someone else police your words

But which is entirely understandable in a workplace environment.


I'm truly sorry to hear you work at such an awful place that you might consider this acceptable, let alone understandable.


Its acceptable when liability concerns (which are great in the USA) are taken into account.

Unless you have deep pockets and don't mind paying several hundred thousand dollars out in settlements at a time.




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