5 Strategies to attract more women to your organization
The 2020 Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org shows that there have been some great strides being made towards increasing the number of women represented in the workplace; however, there’s still a lot of work to be done! For example, while female representation in the C-suite is on the rise, only one in five executives in the C-suite is a woman today, and women remain underrepresented at all levels.
The good news is that once in the pipeline, women are more likely to get hired, but the challenge is getting them there in the first place. So, if you’re looking to attract more women to your organization, we’re sharing five strategies to help you out here.
Make your job postings more inclusive
Research from LinkedIn shows that women are unlikely to apply for a position unless they meet 100% of the requirements, while men will apply if they meet 60%. So, to avoid qualified candidates discounting themselves, be mindful about what’s a “required skill” and a “nice to have” and keep the focus on the “must haves” only. Try A/B testing different job postings to identify which version works best.
And don’t forget to remove any biased language! A simple first step is to remove gendered third-person pronouns like he/his or she/her. Instead, you can swap for they/them which is more inclusive of all gender types.
Also, be on the lookout for the use of subconscious gendered language. Appcast’s latest report outlines how the use of gendered wording in job postings can impact recruitment advertising outcomes. The study found that by simply changing the words in your job descriptions you can improve your cost per application (CPA), apply rate, and the average number of applications per job!
Not sure where to begin? You can leverage augmented writing tools like Textio that help identify biased language. Again, don’t be afraid to test out different versions of your job postings to see which language changes are making the most impact.
Highlight your female-identifying employees through storytelling
We work with our client Sleeman Breweries to showcase their gender diverse workforce on their careers blog and social accounts.
LinkedIn’s Gender Insights Report found that both women and men are equally likely to visit a company’s LinkedIn page and research a company’s culture before applying for a job. When women see themselves represented in your firm’s recruiting collateral, they’re more likely to apply.
Share stories and interviews with women on your job postings, career page, blog, and socials. If you can show prospective candidates how their peers are attaining success working with your company, you’ll more likely inspire them to hit “apply.”
Highlight your flexible work offerings
According to Fairy Goodboss’ How 2020 Changed the Job Search Landscape, flexible and remote work options were the second most important consideration for both women and men when considering a new employer — just behind financial benefits! That means if you want to attract more women to your organization, then you need to highlight your flexible work offerings and how they support your employees.
Need some inspo? Check out our blog, 3 unique ways companies are showcasing their work-life balance.
Identify and remove opportunities for unconscious bias to sneak into your recruiting efforts
According to a report by LinkedIn, recruiters are 13% less likely to click on a woman’s profile when it shows up in a search and 3% less likely to send a woman an InMaill after viewing their profile. Interestingly, after recruiters reviewed a candidate’s profile, they found that women were just as qualified as men and reached out to both genders at a similar rate.
So what does that mean for your recruiting efforts? A great first step to addressing this issue is to provide your recruiters, managers, and other hiring decision-makers with unconscious bias training. You can also take this one step further by removing key identifiers like names and photos from candidates’ applications or disable viewing candidate photos within LinkedIn Recruiter.
Create a “returnship” program
Career breaks are pursued for several different reasons, but are often taken for childcare and eldercare, and primarily affect women. That’s why creating a returnship program is an effective way to bring women back to the workforce and attract them to your organization.
According to an article from PureWow, a returnship is an internship that helps adults who have taken a break from their careers and are now interested in re-entering the workforce. It typically lasts a few weeks to a few months and is paid commensurate with an individual’s level of experience.
Similar to your other internship programs, these returnships often lead to the individual being hired full-time afterward. If you’re not sure how to get started here, you can partner with companies such as iRelaunch or Pathforward who specialize in creating and implementing these types of programs.
Progress towards gender parity takes time, commitment, and intention. While none of these initiatives alone will solve this complex challenge overnight, implementing these approaches can help you craft a more deliberate recruitment strategy that can begin to get more women through the door at your organization.
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About The Employer Brand Shop
The Employer Brand Shop is a boutique recruitment marketing and employer brand agency located in Kitchener, Canada. Our team helps organizations around the world attract and engage talent using creative marketing strategies.