How to Write an Inclusive Job Description to Promote Diversity?

A study states that about 67% of job seekers consider diversity an important factor when searching for job opportunities. This highlights the importance of diversity and inclusion in job descriptions. If you wish to attract diverse candidates, consider incorporating these values in your job description. This blog will discuss tips for writing a comprehensive diverse and inclusive job description to help you improve your hiring process.

Introduction to Job Descriptions

A job description is a necessary part of your job post. It highlights the roles and responsibilities of the job position. As an employer, you have to mention an overview of the job, the tasks one has to perform, the required qualifications, experience, skills, and salary offered. If you are recruiting new employees, you must consider incorporating the tips mentioned in this blog to make your job description inclusive. You can train your human resources department on more recruitment best practices with an online HR course.

Tips to Write an Inclusive Job Description

Let us learn how to write an inclusive job description that increases your chances of attracting qualified candidates.  

1. Include Persons with Disabilities

Your job description should highlight how your workplace supports persons with disabilities. Mention accommodative policies, such as telephone work policies, rotational assignments, quiet workstations, paid time off, etc. 

Be mindful of the criteria or skills you use in the job description for job eligibility. For example, you can use “communicate with customers about their product-related concerns” instead of “must talk to customers about their product-related concerns”.

2. Remove Gender Bias

When you remove the biased language discriminating against sex, gender, or sexual orientation, you get inclusive job postings. Use gender-neutral job titles and pronouns to reflect an inclusive opportunity. 

Some examples include “Sales Person” instead of “Salesman”, “Flight Attendant” instead of “Air Hostess”, “Meteorologist” instead of “Weatherman”, and “They/Them” instead of “He/She”.

3. Avoid Racial, National, and Ethnic Bias

You can make your job description more diverse by avoiding mentioning national origin, race, ethnicity, or religion directly or indirectly. Also, use more neutral terms to highlight your requirements about the appearance and attire of the potential employee and not exclude people of certain faiths.

If you are looking for someone who speaks a particular language, write “proficient in” instead of “native speaker”. It shows that language need not be the candidate’s first language. They just need to be well-versed in it. 

4. Opportunities For Experienced 

Age is an important factor. Therefore, you must see that your job description does not limit itself to new graduates or young professionals. After all, experienced professionals can contribute a lot with their industry insights and knowledge.

Avoid using phrases like “young and energetic”, “require recent graduates”, or “not more than ‘n’ years of experience”.

5. Offer Inclusive Benefits

When a candidate looks at a job description, they are not only thinking about what they can add to the organization but also what they can gain. Other than experience, your organization must offer benefits that attract a wide range of individuals. 

This is possible only when you offer inclusive benefits, such as childcare allowance, wellness programs, paternal leave, health insurance, childcare centers, and paid sick leave.  

You can learn how to write a job description and incorporate these tips accordingly. 

6. Revise Necessary Qualifications

Candidates prefer job descriptions that are brief and to the point. Therefore, include a short list of required qualifications and preferred ones. Avoid any qualifications not necessary for the job. 

As for the experience, if there are technologies or tools in which the candidate can be trained, do not mention them as compulsory in the job description. It will help you create inclusive job postings.

7. Use Simple Language 

Understand that diverse job seekers are looking at multiple opportunities a day. If they give up on your job post because the description was difficult to comprehend, you will miss out on talented individuals. 

Therefore, use formal but simple language that is conversational and attracts candidates to apply for the job. It is also easy to read these descriptions for people with autism or dyslexia.

8. Do Not Use Exclusionary Language

Language plays a vital role in conveying that you are an inclusive workplace. The use of exclusionary language is seen as discriminatory and intimidating. Therefore, do not use words or phrases such as “Freshman”, as it signifies only male candidates can apply. 

Instead of including holidays for a specific festival as a benefit, use “Break/Holidays” to include people of all faiths. Offering activities such as a sports club can also exclude those working remotely in or from outside the country. Incorporate online activities as workplace benefits for such candidates in your diversity and inclusion job description.

9. Specify Salary Range

Wondering if mentioning salary range is essential for inclusive job postings? The answer is yes. Transparency about salary ranges gives an impression that your company offers fair wages based on skills and experience rather than elements like age, gender, or ethnicity. 

10. Provide Flexible Work Options

Flexible work options include offering part-time hours, work-from-home days, and even a few hours off work to accompany a family member to the hospital, handle a symptom of a disability, or pick up kids from school. 

Such job descriptions will help you attract talented individuals who otherwise were excluded from the workforce due to certain situations. 

11. Stay Clear of Your Own Bias

Often, an unconscious mistake made by many recruiters is letting their bias cloud their judgment. You may find yourself looking for candidates with college, hobbies, and skills similar to yours. When this bias is reflected in your job description, it defeats the purpose of wanting to write an inclusive one. 

To stay clear of this bias, you can take a second opinion about the details mentioned in the job description, get it reviewed, and thoroughly understand the job role to filter the requirements accordingly. 

To better understand job descriptions, you can refer to this example of a business analyst job description. 

12. Include Your DEI Statement

How can you write an inclusive job description? By including a DEI statement. The diversity, equity, and inclusion statement signifies the organization’s commitment to these values. 

You can state that you are an equal opportunity employer or use the statement, “We are committed to ensuring diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We strive to ensure the employees have a sense of belonging in an inclusive work environment where they can be their creative selves”.

Conclusion

Several job seekers wish to work in a place that promotes equal opportunities and an inclusive workplace environment. Use the tips provided in this blog to write a diverse and inclusive job description and convey your dedication to creating a diverse workforce. Did you find this blog useful? Share your opinion with us in the comments section below. Also, check out the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.