Why Gender Neutral Job Postings Help Recruit Great Talent

In this current economy, it’s an all-hands mission to recruit great talent. One of the most compelling—but often overlooked—strategies for recruiting great talent is eliminating gender-specific language in job postings.

WHAT IS GENDER-SPECIFIC LANGUAGE?

There are words commonly associated with both male and female-orientations. For example, popular job posting language includes “rockstar,” “superhero,” and “guru,” which tend to be associated with male orientation. On the flip side, words like “compassionate,” “concerned” and “nurture” skew to female orientation.

Other examples of male/masculine-driven language include: Strong, Lead, Individual, Competitive, and Expert.

Other examples of female/feminine-driven language include: Support, Share, Committed, Feel, and Collaborate.

(For more gender-coded words found in many job descriptions, read this article from Ongig.)

These words may not seem to be problematic for you, but research shows that gender-specific language can discourage top talent from applying to your job postings if the gender language does not resonate with the individual.

WHY GENDER NEUTRAL POSTINGS CAN IMPROVE YOUR COMPANY’S PERFORMANCE

According to a McKinsey & Company report, gender-diverse companies are 15 percent more likely to outperform those that are not. The key to increasing your company’s gender diversity is in how and who you recruit. And when you take time to refine your job postings to be more gender neutral, you should expect a more robust and diverse pool of job seekers.

FLOOD YOUR TALENT PIPELINE THROUGH GENDER NEUTRAL JOB POSTINGS

According to a recent CIO article, it stands to reason that if you reach a wider pool of applicants, you’re more likely to have more applicants, which improves diversity and speeds up the recruiting and hiring process.

According to a study from ZipRecruiter, “Neutral wording in job listings resulted in 42 percent more applications than listings that contained gendered words.”

DOES YOUR INDUSTRY USE GENDERED WORDING? ALSO ACCORDING TO THE ZIPRECRUITER STUDY, MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES ARE THE “HIGHEST OFFENDERS” OF GENDERED LANGUAGE.

For example:
– 94% of the Business industry uses gendered wording
– 92% of the Technology industry uses gendered wording
– 91% of the Finance & Insurance industry uses gendered wording
– 88% of the Law industry uses gendered wording

HOW TO GET STARTED WRITING BETTER NEUTRAL WORDING

Instead of writing a job posting that begins, “We’re looking for a strong…”, which is male-gendered language, write instead: “We’re looking for an exceptional…”

Instead of writing a job posting that begins, “We are a community of concerned…, which is female-gendered language, write instead: “We are a team focused on…”

BETTER DIVERSITY, MORE INCLUSION, AND MORE CANDIDATES

Taking time to review your job postings and reframing the language to be more gender neutral can help you attract a more diverse workforce, encourage  inclusion, and can open the doors wider open for the best candidate for your job.

Interested in other current employment trends? Click the link to view the recent blog: How to Create a More Diverse and Unified Small Business Culture or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.