How to remove gender bias from the recruitment and hiring process

How gender balanced is your workforce? Despite recent progress, the answer for the vast majority of businesses will be, “Not enough.” Women still face inequality across areas such as education, health, representation, legal rights, and societal expectations. So, when it comes to employment, what can hiring teams do to remove gender bias during recruitment and level the playing field for women?

The impact of gender bias in the workplace

Towards the end of 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the results of their Gender Balance in Business 2023 survey, providing statistics on gender representation in top management teams and boards of directors in Ireland. This is the third iteration of the biennial survey which began in 2019. Hundreds of large enterprises (250 or more employees) were surveyed, reporting a modest increase in representation.

In 2023, 25% of boards of directors in Ireland were female, an increase from almost 22% in 2021. Similarly, there was an increase in female chairpersons, from 14% in 2021 to 19% in 2023. Almost 19% of chief executive officers (CEOs) were women in 2023 compared with more than 13% in 2021. There was a slight increase in the overall number of female senior executives in 2023, rising to 30.4% in 2023 from 29.7% in 2021.

Additionally, 24.7% of enterprises had at least 40% female representation at board level in Ireland in 2023 compared with 18.4% in 2021. 29.4% of enterprises had at least 40% female representation at senior executive level, compared with 28.6% in 2021. Meanwhile, 41.4% of enterprises indicated that they had set targets for female representation at senior executive level in 2023.

Addressing gender bias in recruitment processes

How do we start to effect real change and meet such targets? It starts the moment a business identifies a need for recruitment. Before diving in and preparing job descriptions, we recommend an internal review to determine if the team is well-balanced and, if not, what needs to be done to correct the imbalance.

Are people with a particular skill set needed? Is there a lack of diversity in one or more fields - be it gender, ethnicity, age, or civil status? If there is an imbalance, can it be addressed in-house before recruiting new employees? Many firms are putting a priority on helping staff get the mentorship and guidance they require to progress internally. It makes a lot of sense to balance external recruitment campaigns with internal recruitment strategies.

How to create a gender inclusive recruitment campaign to eliminate bias

Build out processes that remove gender bias from every step of your hiring process, including your recruitment strategies, job descriptions, interview questions, and decision-making.

Avoiding gender bias in your job descriptions

Creating a gender-inclusive advert is key in attracting a gender-balanced pool of candidates. Did you know that language is a powerful tool in the fight against identity-based stereotypes? When job adverts include ‘masculine’ language, women will be less likely to apply, however the opposite is not true when more ‘feminine’ words are used; just as many men will apply to these as to the former category.

To ensure you don’t perpetuate existing bias in your hiring process, start your job description from scratch rather than using one from the last time the role was filled. Consider the role and break down the activities and capabilities required but try not to stray into describing personality or character traits. Instead of saying something like ‘You're innovative’, try ‘You've introduced new processes that improved efficiency and productivity". Instead of ‘You're an excellent team player’, try ‘You've collaborated effectively with diverse teams to achieve project goals’.

When it comes to the actual words you use, it’s surprising just how much they can attract or repel candidates. It can be hard to spot gender-coded words, so you can use one of the excellent decoders online to help you analyse and revise your texts, for example the Kat Matfield Gender Decoder or the Gender Bias Decoder from jobs.ie. Some examples of words that are masculine coded include:

1. Ambitious
2. Assertive
3. Autonomous
4. Challenge
5. Champion
6. Confident
7. Decisive
8. Driven
9. Independent
10. Self-reliant

And some words that are feminine coded include:

1. Collaborative
2. Cooperate
3. Enthusiastic
4. Empathetic
5. Inclusive
6. Interpersonal
7. Loyal
8. Responsive
9. Supportive
10. Understanding

Other tactics to make your job offer more universal

Beyond the job description, the way your job is packaged and sent out into the world will also influence who applies for it. Consider all the elements of your job advert, including:

• Fixed salaries: Evidence shows that fixed salaries, as opposed to negotiable ones, can help increase applications from women. Women tend to negotiate salaries less frequently than men and may feel discouraged from applying to jobs where negotiation is expected or necessary. By offering fixed salaries, companies can mitigate the effects of gender differences in negotiation behaviour and attract a more diverse pool of applicants, including women. However, if the salary is negotiable, it’s important to say so in the job advert, as men prefer job environments where the rules of wage determination are ambiguous.
• Flexible working: The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) in the UK has carried out many research projects around improving gender equality. They have found that offering flexible working will increase applications from both men and women but improves the gender balance because of even greater increases from women. For example, roles offered with flexible working on the jobsite Indeed attracted 19% to 30% more candidates. In a partnership with John Lewis, a randomised controlled trial advertising new managerial vacancies as part-time or open to job-share by default resulted in an application increase of 50% and the proportion of female applicants rose from 38% to 51%.
• Advertising channels: Push your advert out on a wide variety of channels to have more chance of reaching all qualified candidates. Depending on your sector, this could include websites catering to social or demographic needs beyond jobs, as well as using a mix of real-world and digital channels (this could include local advertising or using word-of-mouth networks, for example). This is a great way to target diversity more generally, beyond gender.
• Imagery: A small but significant element of the job offer is what images you chose to go with it. Consider what your imagery or photography is saying about you as an employer and about the kind of candidate you are looking for.

Develop a gender-blind job application and assessment process

Look for opportunities to remove bias from the application process, so that you can progress more women to interview stage. One way is to remove identifying information from CVs and cover letters before they are forwarded to hiring managers. This includes names and other personal information, but also social cues such as schools people went to or where they live.

There is evidence that automated sifting of CVs also leads to gender bias, mainly because the parameters inputted are themselves biased. For example, looking for masculine-coded keywords such as ‘driven’ or ‘leader’ introduces subjectivity to what is supposed to be a neutral process.

Develop clear and specific criteria for evaluating CVs based on the job-relevant qualifications, skills, and experience needed. You can use a scoring system to objectively assess each candidate against these criteria. Ensure these criteria are being applied consistency by having multiple reviewers assess the CVs (in parallel, but independently) and then compare the scores to discover discrepancies and reach a consensus.

When you do offer interviews to candidates, provide transparency and flexibility to make the next steps more inclusive. Be clear about what the recruitment process will involve (number of interviews, timeframes, testing, etc.) and ask candidates if they will need any reasonable adjustments during interviews (remote interviews, specific times of the day, etc.). This is actually a good way to improve diversity more generally – for example, a neurodiverse candidate may appreciate their first interview being online or receiving the interview questions in advance.

Preventing gender bias during the interview process

A lot of advice about inclusive interviewing will stress the need for a diverse interview panel. The data is not, in fact, conclusive on whether this will improve the likelihood of women being hired. Some studies show that mandating diverse interview panels can lead to seats being filled by junior or marginalised team members who are not able to influence the decision-making process.

While it’s always good practice to assemble a representative panel where every voice counts, there are other structural ways to improve the interview process. Establish clear decision-making criteria and guidelines for progressing candidates through the selection process. Base these on qualifications, skills, and capabilities. Be realistic about which are ‘must-haves’ and which are ‘nice-to-haves’, as you are unlikely to find anyone – male or female – with every single skill and quality you are looking for.

Develop a predetermined set of questions that are job-related and consistent across all candidates. This ensures that each candidate is evaluated on the same basis. It also stops interviewers asking stereotypical or discriminatory questions that may bias their evaluation, keeping the focus on job-related factors. Rating scales or rubrics for evaluating candidates' responses to interview questions will provide the objective criteria needed to assess each their performance consistently.

You can also consider using behavioural interviewing techniques. This means asking candidates to provide specific examples of past experiences and behaviours relevant to the job. This approach helps to assess candidates' competencies and skills objectively, rather than relying on subjective impressions.

Train your teams in gender bias awareness and mitigation

Even those with the best of intentions have inherent biases and preconceived ideas. These unconscious biases can mean we miss out on excellent potential employees, depriving the firm of their valuable contributions. Achieving and maintaining gender balance is a challenge for any organisation, but good training can support and enhance these efforts.

Training your teams will give them the knowledge and skills needed to recognise and address unconscious biases that may affect hiring decisions, empowering them to challenge bias and advocate for fair practices. It also demonstrates your organisation's commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive environment for all employees, enhancing your reputation as an employer of choice and attracting candidates who value diversity and equity.

Provide training to hiring managers and review panels on unconscious bias and its impact on decision-making. This could include methods for conducting structured interviews, evaluating candidates objectively, and making fair and inclusive decisions. Promoting continuous learning and improvement in this area ensures that your teams stay updated on best practices and legal requirements, reducing the risk of bias-related issues and reinforcing your organisation's commitment to fairness and equality.