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Both versions (with and without the hyphen) are fine, meaning they both conform to common usage.

Incidentally, I assume “thousands of postmen and -women” is intended to avoid offending female postal employees. It may be well worth your time to discover whether it might have the reverse effect. This is a complex issue. See the question titled “Gender-neutral FormsGender-neutral Forms”.

Both versions (with and without the hyphen) are fine, meaning they both conform to common usage.

Incidentally, I assume “thousands of postmen and -women” is intended to avoid offending female postal employees. It may be well worth your time to discover whether it might have the reverse effect. This is a complex issue. See the question titled “Gender-neutral Forms”.

Both versions (with and without the hyphen) are fine, meaning they both conform to common usage.

Incidentally, I assume “thousands of postmen and -women” is intended to avoid offending female postal employees. It may be well worth your time to discover whether it might have the reverse effect. This is a complex issue. See the question titled “Gender-neutral Forms”.

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MetaEd
MetaEd
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Both versions (with and without the hyphen) are fine, meaning they both conform to common usage.

Incidentally, I assume “thousands of postmen and -women” is intended to avoid offending female postal employees. It may be well worth your time to discover whether it might have the reverse effect. This is a complex issue. See the question titled “Gender-neutral Forms”.