2.1 Attract more diverse women candidates through inclusive job ads
Content
Description of Best Practices
Revise job descriptions and job ads to make them competency-based to reduce potential bias (e.g., demand certain skills instead of years of experience, and limit the number of mandatory qualifications required to apply)
Create gender-neutral job ads that do not use words more commonly associated with men or women, while encouraging women and men with diverse social identities to apply
Use tools like the “Gender Decoder” or the “Check my Job” to check job descriptions for unconscious gender bias, length, and recruitment best practice
Post job advertisements in a variety of media such as company career page, job and recruiting websites, and LinkedIn, to reach more diverse women and men
Challenges of Implementation
Validating competency-based job descriptions is time-consuming
Local languages may present a challenge for clearly worded job postings, particularly when different words are used for masculine and feminine nouns, like “engineer”
Gender-neutral and/or gender-inclusive language may be viewed as an unimportant detail by the author of the job ad
What Success Looks Like
Organizations adopt gender-inclusive and neutral language and base job descriptions on validated competencies
Notable increases in female candidates applying to open positions
Resources and Tools
Case Study: Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) Increases Women’s Participation in the Power Sector (USAID)
Case Study: KOSTT Gender-inclusive Job Ads (USAID)
Guide: Tips for Writing Better Job Ads (NCWIT)
Guide: Checklist for Reducing Unconscious Bias in Job Descriptions/Advertisements (NCWIT)
Tool: Gender Decoder for Job Ads (Kat Matfield)
Tool: Check my Job (Eploy)
Article: Women Do Not Apply To ‘Male Sounding’ Job Postings (Science Daily)
Article: How to Avoid Gender Bias in Job Postings (World Economic Forum)