Gender-Neutral Hiring

Gender-Neutral or Gender-Inclusive hiring is where all gender-identifying information is removed from the entire recruitment workflow to minimise the risk of bias with attracting and choosing applicants based on their gender.

Why?
A study found that a staggering 48% of women in STEM roles report discrimination during hiring. See Women in Tech Statistics.

Furthermore, the “glass ceiling” phenomena explains the systemic gender imbalance where there is no apparent barriers and how it impacts women when it comes to progressing in their careers to senior positions with power and authority.

“39% of women view gender bias as a primary reason for not being offered a promotion” - Women in Tech Statistics.

Over 60,000 people took part in a study where 54% of participants claimed to have no preference for their boss’ gender, while the remaining 46% preferred male to female bosses by a ratio of more than 2:1. See Does gender bias against female leaders persist?”

Finally, a separate study on choice of words used in job adverts found that the word ‘aggressive’ discourages 44% of women and 33% of men from applying for a role. See Language Matters Report.

Therefore, achieving gender-neutrality within hiring would ensure you pertain to all people without targeting a specific gender.

How?

Use of Gender-Neutral Job Adverts
Set up a Gender-Diverse Recruitment Panel
Set up a Gender-Neutral Hiring Process
Set Diversity & Inclusion Goals
Unconscious \ Implicit Bias Training
Use multiple Job Posting Platforms (LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, StackOverflow, WomenInTech, SheCanCode, WhereWomenWork, etc)

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