Top tips on how to champion diversity and inclusion in tech recruitment
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Adopt a DE&I mindset when hiring talent
Ethnicity and gender representation are important to tech workers. By using inclusive language and market insights, you can attract candidates from a variety of backgrounds. Likewise, technology can help reduce bias in the recruitment process and create a fairer screening process.
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Use data to recruit diverse talent
Smart tools, such as Equality Boost, can help make your diversity, equality and inclusion strategy a reality. Leveraging a unique blend of data science, Equality Boost pinpoints when, where and how to reach the tech talent you need by demographic, location and interest. It enables you to display the right ad to the right audience. It’s also able to attract both passive and active tech candidates, increasing application numbers and showcasing your brand in an authentic way.
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Use AI-powered technology
Instant Candidate Recommendation tools can suggest highly relevant and active candidates based on their skills and match to the role. This decreases time to hire and removes bias.
Conversational artificial intelligence tools such as Mya can help increase applications by 50% by providing jobseekers with an interactive experience that guides them to the right opportunities in the most efficient way possible.
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Avoid gender-specific language
The Gender Bias Decoder, can help you identify gendered words in job descriptions and emails. You can then make adjustments to ensure you use gender-neutral language in your communications with candidates.
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Emphasise inclusive benefits
Nearly one quarter (24%) of female tech workers want a better work-life balance (Turning to Tech research), so if your company offers benefits such as shared parental leave, flexible working, and childcare subsidies, make sure to highlight them in your job descriptions.
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Demonstrate your commitment to diversity
According to CWJobs’ Confidence Index 2021, over a fifth of tech workers (23%) want their company to have a more diverse and representative boardroom. They also want their company to make more hires from ethnic backgrounds (22%), different socio-economic groups (22%) and women (20%). Developing industry partnerships, internal policies, and employee focus groups can improve your company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and ensure you communicate your efforts to the wider industry.
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Take a societal stand
Today’s savvy tech candidates want to know where companies stand on socio-economic issues. They want to know what your company is doing to address sustainability and diversity – and you should expect their standards to be high. Leading by example on such issues cultivates a positive brand image and appeals to the values of tech workers.
Authors
Dominic Harvey
Dominic Harvey, Commercial Director of the UK’s leading tech job board CWJobs, has worked in the recruitment industry for over 24 years. After initially working in classified sales he moved to the IT recruitment consultancy field for 6 years. 18 years ago Dominic joined Totaljobs Group, owner of CWJobs, and spent seven years launching two offices and growing their regional sales teams, before moving to his current position as Commercial Director of the tech brand.
