Job Adverts to Attract Women, Non-Binary and Transfeminine Talent

Have you ever considered if the way you’re writing your job adverts is inclusive to women, non-binary, and transfeminine talent?

If you’re trying to recruit more women into your business, reviewing and refining your job adverts might literally shift the ratio of male and female candidates applying for a particular role. This follows analysis from a tech company that has revealed the language used in job specs is putting some women off.

According to an analysis of hundreds of millions of job ads, words like ‘manage’ or ‘build’ are reported to attract a higher percentage of male applicants, while women prefer ‘develop’ and ‘create’.

Tech companies such as Textio – a Seattle-based ‘augmented writing software’ company, are helping businesses overcome their language barriers. The company uses artificial intelligence to scan job specifications, before suggesting alternative ‘feminine friendly’ words.

One company, Atlassian – an Australian software business – saw incredible results after Textio took charge of their job adverts. In the two years following, the company hired 80 percent more female applicants in technical roles.

Why do men and women find different words appealing?

“We don’t explain why this or that phrase excludes women,” says CEO Kieran Snyder. “We just provide the data and the company in question can come up with their own theory on why that sentence doesn’t work.”

Textio’s teachings are supported by research they conducted in 2016, which revealed in jobs where a male applicant was hired, the original spec contained twice as many ‘masculine phrases’. However, for roles where a female applicant was employed, ads contained the opposite.

What employers and recruiters can do

Traditionally job adverts are repurposed, some might even be a copy and paste approach, but the consequences of not ensuring the job adverts appeal to all genders can be catastrophic in terms of gender equality and closing the gender pay gap.

There are a lot of adverts with a long list of criteria on what people need to meet which is now quite an outdated approach. This can put prospective applicants off if they can’t hit each bullet point -, particularly women who often feel like they need to be able to do all items on the list.

If you want to attract more female applicants to your shortlist make sure you review your job spec criteria. Use language that helps the potential applicant imagine themselves in the role.

Essential vs desirable experience

Women tend to focus on the essential experience and if the list is vast and they don’t have every bullet point it’s likely it will put them off applying altogether. Be more open. Consider other skills they have and remember that many skills are transferrable. Look for the potential on top of their core ability to do the job.

A job advert is a sales document and it should be speaking directly to the target audience

Look at language – as we know men and women are attracted to different words. Words matter. Changing the language you use can open up your job adverts to speak to all genders.

So if you’re finding you aren’t getting many female applicants why not review your words. Why not try words such as collaborative, inclusive, honest, supportive, and trusting. By changing the language you aren’t putting male candidates off, you’re appealing to all genders.

This isn’t to say you should use words that don’t work for the role you’re trying to attract because the shortlisted candidates might not be right for the role. Use alternative words if they fit with the type of person you want to recruit. Taking the extra time to really delve into the person you want in the role will save you time in the long run and see you find better-suited applicants.

If you would like to reach more women, non-binary or transfeminine candidates why not advertise your job with Jobs for Women.