Gender-inclusive recruitment and career structures

Image courtesy of the Oxford Brookes University

Toolkit and guidance

Using this toolkit

This toolkit is built on insights drawn from a three-year PhD research project and is organised into three key themes that emerged from the data.  The content on this page is focused on structural issues, with a particular focus on recruitment practices and career structures.

We hope this toolkit serves as a valuable resource as you work towards building a more inclusive and innovative environment.  We would like to hear from you if you have additional resources to share or content to add.  Get in touch: ([email protected])

Why does it matter?

Designing an inclusive structure is crucial because it lays the foundation for a culture where everyone has equal access to opportunities. A well-thought-out structure helps demonstrate potential career pathways, but well thought-through roles, and opportunities to take on new responsibilities or develop new skills, are equally important – it is not just about job titles.

Aligning reward to recognise career progression within roles also needs to be considered carefully. This not only supports individual growth but also strengthens the organisation by tapping into the full potential of its workforce.

There are three key elements that should be considered when designing an inclusive career pathway: recruitment, development and promotion practices.  

Guidance – recruitment

  • Step 1 – Language: Use inclusive language in job adverts. Look out for gendered language and stereotypes. There are various open-access websites that function as a “decoder” to assess whether the language used is inclusive.

 

  • Step 2 – Selection and interview panel: Have a balanced and diverse selection and interview panel to get as many views as possible, but also be judicious – make the candidate feel comfortable – interview by committee may not be the right approach.

 

  • Step 3 – Advertisement channels: Advertise the role through different channels e.g. through inclusive career events, or different recruitment platforms. When working with recruiters, make sure they are properly briefed – they work for you. If they don’t communicate your values / culture etc. to candidates, then this will be missed. Ask to see the copy and descriptors being used by head-hunters and recruiters to promote your company and your roles

 

  • Step 4 – Showcasing commitment to EDI: Showcase your commitment and passion for EDI by developing and implementing a policy on EDI (however remember to always live the policy – do not develop a policy for the sake of having one). Think about sharing this on your company (external) website, particularly if you have a ‘careers’ or ‘working for us’ section of your website.

 

Recruitment Advertisements – using inclusive language

In the box to the right we provide some examples, from real job adverts, which contain language which is not inclusive. Research on language within job advertisements and the impact on the attractiveness of roles to different genders is considered in the following paper:

Gaucher, D., Friesen, J., & Kay, A. C. (2011). Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality. Journal of personality and social psychology, 101(1), 109.

The research set out in this paper shows that some adverts include gender-coded language. Women felt that job adverts with masculine-coded language were less appealing, where women felt a lack of ‘belonging’ for those occupations. Wording in job adverts can ultimately lead to a gender imbalance in candidates applying for roles, ultimately leading to recruitment being skewed towards men. Mentioning words such as ‘determined’, ‘100 % detail-conscious’, ‘a knack for spotting and fixing errors’ and ‘demanding’ in adverts communicates a need for candidates who are infallible and do not make any mistakes – does any such candidate actually exist, regardless of gender?!

  Text from a job advert, example 1:

With the ability to communicate results fluently in written reports and spoken presentations, you should be a determined problem-solver by nature, 100% detail-conscious with a knack for spotting and fixing errors and finding novel solutions within demanding operational constraints.

  Text from a job advert, example 2:

For this role, the following attributes and experience would also be a big plus:

A keen interest in cricket, especially limited overs cricket (…)

The successful Senior Data Scientist will be an innovative, self-driven person with high levels of integrity. They will be working closely with local and remote teams and therefore need to be highly communicative, but also work well independently. They must be well organised and have the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously (…). We focus on being the best at what we do and recognise that our success comes from having the best employees (…)

 

 

The second example job advert expects the prospective candidates to have an interest in a specific sport such as ‘cricket’. Given cricket, rugby and football are typically male dominated sports, this advert is likely to immediately discourage candidates who do not fulfil this criteria – and, we would suggest, would likely discourage other groups of individuals, not just women.

Terms such as ‘self driven’ and ‘ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously’, or reinforcing ‘success’ may, again, inadvertently conform with the stereotype of the successful man in tech. 

Note neither example mentions terms or attributes relating to ‘working in teams’; ‘collaboration’, ‘working together’.

Guidance – development

  • Step 1 – Inclusivity: Training and development programmes should be designed inclusively to ensure all employees are able to participate and benefit

 

  • Step 2 – Monitor: Monitor participation to ensure that training activities are, not only open to but, used by all employees, regardless of gender, age, working pattern, location or other characteristics

 

  • Step 3 – Funding and budget: Having a personal and professional development budget, per person, can help to encourage personal and professional development

 

  • Step 4 – Mentoring, coaching, networking: Implement mentoring and coaching opportunities for your staff. Encourage networking, including internal networking within larger organisations, to support collaboration, communication and transparency.  Networking is a skill – not everyone is able, or feels comfortable, doing it – but skills can be developed, so training and practice is essential.

Guidance – Promotion structures and systems

Step 1 – Transparency: Implement transparent progression and promotion criteria and practices for roles within your organisation

 

Step 2 – Signalling: Have success stories of diverse people moving up the career ladder and their career stories

 

Step 3 – Value your people: Organise internal career events where people can inform themselves about opportunities, ask questions, and receive advice. Always provide feedback to candidates, particularly if they have been unsuccessful in securing a role – this provides useful input to personal and career development activities and plans.

 

Step 4 – Communicate: Include discussions about progression, career development, and promotion in objective settings, management meetings, end of year reviews and/or appraisal meetings.

Useful resources

ACAS provides free and impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice. Useful information on recruitment can be found here: https://www.acas.org.uk/hiring-someone

Furthermore, ACAS has developed a template for an EDI policy. Including information on key staff policies can be used as part of your recruitment materials and practices: https://www.acas.org.uk/equality-policy-template

EDIS (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Health) is a coalition of organisations working to improve equality, diversity and inclusion within the science and health research sector. They offer a guide on how to put together inclusive events: https://edisgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/TPATH_Toolkit_English.pdf

The CIPD is a professional body for HR and people development that have provided a factsheet on coaching and mentoring: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/coaching-mentoring-factsheet/ 

Reflections

  • Are you attracting a diverse pool of candidates for your job roles?
  • How do you make yourself aware of, and eliminate, unconscious bias in recruitment processes?
  • How do you ensure that job descriptions and recruitment materials are inclusive?
  • What can you do to foster an inclusive talent pipeline?
  • How do you ensure equal opportunities in promotion and development practices?

 

Latest news

Loading...