10 Essential Tips For Writing Inclusive Job Adverts
Storytime! You’re on a job hunt. As many other job seekers, the first thing you do is to browse through the job adverts on your favourite online platform. Let’s say you’re looking for a role as a sale representative, and this is what you see:
“Are you our next sales rockstar?”
“We’re currently looking for a highly experienced salesman to join our team!”
“Open position for a Finnish native speaker sale representative.”
Do these lines sound appealing to you? Maybe, but what if we forgot to mention that you are a 23 years old French native speaker (although fluent in Finnish) woman? Now that’s a different story, and you should definitely keep on reading!
In the previous articles, we have uncovered the proven benefits Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) bring to the table, and the general Dos and Don’ts to keep in mind while planning your D&I strategy, crucial nowadays for the ultimate survival of many Finnish businesses. This said, what companies might overlook is that their commitment to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) must also show in the very first step of the hiring process: the job advert.
Writing inclusive job adverts isn’t easy, and even if drafted with the best intentions in mind, they can still be loaded with linguistic missteps that will discourage a good slice of prospects from applying. In this context, we’re referring to biased wording that, albeit unintentionally, conveys a preferred candidate profile in terms of gender, age, background, nationality, and much more.
So how can you make sure to draft inclusive and unbiased job descriptions? Here below you’ll find 10 essential tips for writing inclusive job adverts that will resonate with your entire candidate pool.
#1 Avoid gender-coded pronouns and job titles
This first point might sound like a no-brainer. Moreover, according to EU legislation, looking for a he or a she in a job advert isn’t only unethical and discriminatory, it’s also illegal.
Many languages like Finnish have gender-neutral pronouns, so this problem doesn’t occur. The good news is that even in gender-coded languages this is easy to solve and won’t take much effort. Instead of using gender-coded pronouns, engage your prospects with a direct you or stick to the gender-neutral they.
This said, keep in mind that sticking to gender-neutral pronouns isn’t enough, as there are many gender-coded job titles out there. Let’s take for example a restaurant looking for a waitress or a waiter. Why not look for a server or wait staff instead?
Once you start paying attention to gender-coded words, it’ll be easy not to fall into this trap. Yet, sometimes gender bias can be implied in such a subtle way not everybody will be able to spot it, which takes us to the next point.
#2 Learn to identify masculine-, and feminine-coded words
Neutral pronouns like you or they don’t always offer a full solution. We have come a long way from the traditional constructs of society dictating gender roles and expectation, and yet, some deeply-rooted gender stereotypes still linger in our language. To give you an example, who do you see as nurturing? And what gender do you associate with the word assertive? This is a subtle and yet effective way job adverts can promote one gender over the other, and research backs this up.
A study conducted by social scientists Danielle Gaucher, Justin Friesen, and Aaron C. Kay and later published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2011) investigated whether job adverts in fields where gender disparities are common (e.g. tech and engineering) were perpetrating the standard of a male-dominated environment, and could be the reasons why women didn’t apply as much as their male counterpart. The study showed that job adverts in male-dominated fields included prevalent usage of masculine-coded words, which women found consciously and unconsciously off-putting.
Curious about seeing gender-coded words in action? Think of a company looking for their next champion, rockstar, or superhero. And how should their next superhero be as a person? What about dominant, outspoken, competitive, and overall ambitious? Now, what do you say about a business looking for their next supportive, responsible, and loyal addition to the team?
Job adverts packed with gender-coded words aren’t that common, it is usually way more subtle than this, and it can easily happen without any malicious intent from the recruiter’s side. Anyhow, whether we like it or not, gender-coded words ward off a good slice of candidates depending on their gender, and this is something you might want to pay attention to when drafting your next inclusive job advert.
Writing is a tough business and there are so many things you’ll have to take into consideration when creating a job advert that, willing or not, you might end up using a gender-coded word or two. For this, writing software like Develop Diverse will come to your aid highlighting all the gender-coded words in your advert and proposing an inclusive alternative.
#3 Nationality and ethnicity aren’t requirements nor preferences
As with gender, it is illegal to discriminate against candidates based on their nationality, race, and/or ethnicity. This point should be another no-brainer and yet, even with the best of intentions, job adverts might lack inclusivity and worst of all, they might contain discriminatory elements.
For instance, does the position require a distinct dress code that might clash with some applicants’ culture and religious beliefs? Ask yourself the question, do you need to enforce it? Are you willing to openly discriminate in favour of an inflexible dress code? Or are you perhaps ready to be more flexible in order to welcome all valuable prospects to your team?
On the same note, you would never mention a specific nationality as one of the requirements or preferences, right? You’d be surprised at how easily this can happen, which takes us to the next point.
#4 Fluent vs. native speaker
The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is the international language standard used to determine the level of proficiency on a scale from A1 to C2. The CEFR describes the language competence specific to each layer of the scale and, following its standards, a speaker who crosses the B2 threshold should be proficient enough to succeed in any work environment where the target language is spoken.
Of course, several roles call for more advanced language skills, and the recruiters cannot compromise on the “must be fluent in language X” requirement. This said, there are way too many job adverts out there looking for a native speaker.
A native speaker is a person who has learned to speak a certain language as part of their natural childhood development rather than learning it later in life as a foreign language. Native isn’t necessarily a synonym of fluent, and having it as one of the requirements excludes every candidate who, despite being fluent, doesn’t classify as a native speaker.
Try to exchange “native X speaker” with “excellent X oral and written communication skills required”. This way you will convey the idea of the candidate you’re looking for without discriminating.
#5 Write inclusive job adverts with attention to LGBTQ+ applicants
The LGBTQ+ community is another crucial element to keep in mind when writing an inclusive job advert, especially when it comes to gender non-conforming candidates.
In terms of language, are you mentioning husbands and wives? Why not opting for the more concise and neutral spouse or partner instead? Does your company offer maternity and paternity leave, or parental leave?
Together with the language, there are other ways job adverts can discriminate against gender non-conforming candidates. We have already mentioned dress code requirements, so take a moment to ask yourself, does working at your company require a strict gender-coded wear? Why can’t you exchange the gender-coded requirements for a general guideline (for example business formal) and let your employees choose what they feel more comfortable in?
Again, this is a very small step that will yet go a long way and will speak volumes about your company’s commitment to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I).
#6 Step away from ageism
Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) denote all individuals in terms of gender identity, race and ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, physical conditions, and age. Discriminations based on an individual’s age is called ageism, and research has proven this is a concrete hurdle for many applicants. In 2020 a study conducted by Ian Burn, Patrick Button, Luis Munguia Corella, and David Neumark has shown that: “for both men and women, and across different occupations, we find evidence that employers who do not call back older applicants but do call back younger applicants, or vice versa, use phrases in their job ads that are related to ageist stereotypes.”
The presence of both young and senior employees is part of a diverse working environment and once more, everything starts from the hiring process. When it comes to an inclusive job advert a company should avoid age-coded terms like recent-graduate, tech-savvy, energetic, which convey a preference towards younger prospects. On the same note, words like highly experienced, expert, word-class imply a senior candidate profile.
#7 Skills vs. degree
A whisper has it that the intimidating section of requirements in a job advert is nothing but a rather demanding wishlist. This said, research has already shown that women are less likely to apply if they don’t meet 100% of the listed requirements, while their male counterpart will apply when meeting at least 60% of the requisites.
Before outlining a job advert, recruiters should get into the habit of answering the following questions: is the advert centred around specific education and years of experience, or the skills that are effectively required to succeed at the job? Must the ideal candidate have a precise degree title or the actual experience in the field is what matters the most? Talking about the experience, does the prospect really need 5-6 years of proven practice to succeed in this role?
Something as simple as “Degree in Computer Science preferred, no boot camps,” is enough to slam the door in the face of a good slice of valuable candidates. So, be mindful of the must-haves and decide where you can be more flexible.
#8 Boost accessibility
When talking about inclusive job adverts, we don’t only mean the wording. Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) also denote equality in terms of physical ability, and inclusive job adverts should be outlined with this aspect in mind.
In the first article of its protocol, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that: “persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”
Inclusive job adverts must also be accessible, and this won’t take much effort from the recruiter’s side. Use a font that is easy to read (the general rule of thumb when it comes to font size is at least 12pt), opt for a high-level contrast to improve visibility, and why not offer a video or audio version of the advert along with the text?
Once more, these are only a few examples on how to increase the level of accessibility for your entire talent pool, and investing some extra time in order to make your job adverts as accessible as possible will speak volume about your full commitment to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I).
#9 Inclusive company benefits
Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) also extend to the company benefits, and a business should never underestimate the power of inclusive benefits to draw in a diverse pool of candidates.
With the current times, many companies have started to list remote working among their benefits and are planning to make it a permanent option, but there’s so much more to that. Among others, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) can be implemented by offering flexible working hours, flextime, childcare services, healthcare, and floating holidays (paid time off offered as an alternative to a public holiday).
Also, consider disclosing the salary for full transparency and as a guarantee of equality instead of offering a competitive, negotiable or sufficient salary.
#10 Company values and code of ethics
No matter how much effort you put into clearing your writing of all biases, underrepresented candidates will be less likely to apply if they have to guess whether you commit to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) or not. This is why you should state your company values and be very straightforward about them.
Does your company commit to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I)? Awesome, now state it clearly in your inclusive job advert. Did you score high on the D&I survey? Scream it out loud! What causes do you support? What associations? And what about your company’s Code of Ethics, does it state your company won’t tolerate any form of discrimination? List all of your company values and actions that support Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) and make sure to include them in your job advert.
Never underestimate the power of your company values and the charm of a clear and loud Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) statement.
Other than this, companies are nowadays trying to attract top-notch prospects with effective taglines and slogans. Let your creativity run free, but also be mindful of certain sayings that might discourage some of the potential applicants. For instance, statements like “our company culture is work hard, play hard,” which implies a fair amount of extra work and a fair amount of after-work socializing, might push back parents and seniors candidates.
About the author:
Giulia Pernisi is a content writer with solid expertise in educating and assisting people of all backgrounds and nationalities.
In the past 8 years, she has been working for different international and multicultural Finnish businesses where she has experienced first-hand the importance of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I). She has now made it her mission to be an active D&I advocate. Diversity & Inclusion are also at the core of her creative writing, as Giulia is a fantasy author with a book series in the making.
Contact Giulia on her LinkedIn profile.