Diversity, equity, and inclusion are extremely important. So, you must use inclusive job descriptions in your recruiting efforts. In 2024, DEI hiring shouldn’t just be a goal. It should be a priority if a company wants to remain competitive in a modern-day job-seeker landscape.
According to a recent study by Linkedin, companies that promote inclusive hiring are “22% more likely to be seen as “an industry-leading company with high-caliber talent”. Also, they are 12% more likely to be seen as an “inclusive workplace for people of diverse backgrounds.”
The question is, how can you promote your company as an inclusive workplace to potential job seekers?
As diversity, equity, and inclusion dominate 2024 hiring trends, we’ve put together a guide on how to improve your inclusive hiring strategy. We’ve also collated five brilliant examples of inclusive job descriptions to take inspiration from.
How To Improve Inclusive Hiring In The Workplace
If you want to improve your inclusive hiring strategy and live up to some of the best examples of inclusive job descriptions, the change must happen from within the workplace first.
Creating a diverse hiring strategy takes time and effort. From establishing inclusion policies to improving the diversity of your HR team, your company should be fully committed to implementing DEI practices throughout the workplace.
Companies that promote DEI hiring practices often see an increase in role applications and even find that promoting inclusivity also helps build brand personality.
Here are a few steps you can take to improve your inclusive hiring strategy as a DEI beginner:
Read Examples of Inclusive Job Descriptions
If you want to promote your company as inclusive to new recruits, ensure that your job descriptions echo your DEI values. Start by reading some positive examples of inclusive job descriptions. Also, you must ensure that your own description is free from bias and accessible to all candidates.
Create a Diverse Hiring Team
If you want to improve your inclusive hiring efforts, let underrepresented groups lead the way forward. Gather as much information on your current company diversity as possible. Also, let those with less of a voice offer their opinion on the candidates that they think will bring fresh viewpoints and values to the team.
Remove Biased Salary Guidelines
Did you know that women earn just 83% of a man’s weekly take-home pay? Ensure that your inclusive job description states that you pay an equal salary to all employees under the role.
Introduce an Inclusion Policy
Before you start hiring new employees, look at your current company practices and address any diversity, equity, or inclusion issues that employees have faced in the past. The key here is to open up the discussion business-wide and create an inclusion policy based on feedback on DEI failures.
Once you’ve introduced an inclusion policy, look at current examples of inclusive job descriptions and find a way to include your new policy within your own.
What to Include in your Inclusive Job Description
Once you’ve improved your inclusive hiring strategy, it’s time to move on to writing your inclusive job descriptions.
We’ll show you some of our favorite examples of inclusive job descriptions later on. But let’s first learn about what a good inclusive job description includes:
- No Unconscious Bias: It’s very easy for unconscious bias to slip into a job description. We all have our own biases. So, a few people on the hiring team need to read through a job description before it goes live. This way you gain diverse perspectives and feedback regarding any biased language.
- No Gender-Coded Words: One of the easiest ways to make your job advert more inclusive is to remove gender-coded words and phrases. You’ll see this in some of our examples of inclusive job descriptions. This goes further than removing she/he. Research shows that words such as ‘competitive’ and ‘assertive’ appeal more to male candidates, which often deter women from applying for a role. Therefore, to avoid this, try using Ongig’s text analyzer tool to help detect any gender-coded words within your job description.
- A Diversity Statement: Tell your candidates that you are a diverse company. Ensure that your description speaks directly to diverse hires and encapsulates your brand’s authentic voice. Include references to your inclusion policy and explain your business’ mission moving forward.
5 Examples of Inclusive Job Descriptions from Companies Doing it Right
Now you know what to include in your own inclusive job description. So, here are five examples of inclusive job descriptions from brands doing it right.
SAP
First up, we have an enterprise application software company, SAP. They provide a great example of opening up a job description with a DEI statement.
So, not only are the company’s inclusion commitments echoed through this example of an inclusive job description. But they also aim to make all candidates feel welcome from the first line.
Heading a paragraph with “We win with inclusion,” is a great way to draw diverse candidates into the job role while still maintaining a raw, authentic brand voice.
Our takeaway from this example is that inclusion statements really do make a difference when outlining your company mission. So, dedicating just a paragraph or two to your DEI efforts could score you more applications than your competitors.
Google Careers
Next in line in our favorite examples of inclusive job descriptions is Google. Known for pioneering the way forward in the tech sector, Google is also a great figurehead for DEI hiring.
In their newest Field Sales Representative job description, they have removed the use of gender-coded and biased language, replacing he/she with you.
“As a Field Sales Representative for Startups, you will accelerate Google Cloud adoption within the United States startup ecosystem. You will build meaningful relationships across various levels of the customer, including founders, executives, and developers. You will work with Customer Engineering, Specialist Solutions, Marketing, Partner, Product, and Engineering teams to produce a focused value proposition and Go-To-Market strategy that results in the acquisition of brands in the startup community.”
As you can see here, this use of gender-neutral words instantly opens up this job description to all candidates. Better still, as a gender-inclusive company, Google also battles gender-coding, replacing words such as ‘determination’ and ‘drive’ with ‘understand’ and ‘develop’. Candidates applying for this role are made to feel as if they can grow within the Google family, rather than turn up to a corporate competition.
CrowdStrike
Crowdstrike also knows how to excellently echo their company’s DEI mission within their job description. As one of our favorite examples of inclusive job descriptions, CrowdStrike’s job advert promotes accessibility and inclusion throughout.
Not only do they describe their company as one of belonging, where everyone feels seen. But they also further open up their job offer to those with further accessibility needs right from the start.
“CrowdStrike is committed to maintaining an environment of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. If you need reasonable accommodation to access the information provided on this website, please contact Recruiting@crowdstrike.com, for further assistance.”
Better still, the job description also lists a large number of inclusive benefits. These include mental health wellness programs and paid parental leave. And these programs aim to include candidates of all backgrounds.
General Motors
Next up we have a job description from General Motors. This one approaches inclusivity a bit differently. By shortening the job advert, they help ensure that candidates of all reading levels can engage and apply.
In addition, by posting a job advert under 200 words, the company gets straight to the point. So they quickly outline the requirements in easy-to-read sentences and well-spaced paragraphs.
This helps reduce visual noise and makes the job description accessible to those who may have trouble taking in large reels of text at once.
Aspirus Health
Last but not least in our list of examples of inclusive job descriptions is this great job posting from Aspirus Health.
Many job descriptions require candidates to have years of prior experience. However, this advert immediately states that it is willing to take on someone with no experience. Thus, opening the placement up to a wider pool of candidates.
By giving those with a transferable set of skills in another area of healthcare a chance to start something new, the company most definitely lives up to its ‘Compassion. Accountability. Collaboration. Foresight. Joy’ motto.
With 45% of the American workforce only just applying for their first job at age 16-24, job adverts that clearly state ‘no experience’ or ‘willing to train’ are more inclusive.
Why I wrote this:
As we step into a new era of DEI hiring, writing inclusive job descriptions will make your company more accessible to a more diverse range of candidates.
So, to improve your DEI strategy it’s important to regularly review your job descriptions and be on the hunt for biased language, gender-coded phrases, and lack of accessibility. And that’s where Ongig’s Text Analyzer comes into play.
Ongig ensures both your efforts in the office and throughout the recruitment process echo your brand’s mission to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion for a happier workplace all around. Want to see Text Analyzer in action? Request a demo today!
