Determining who to hire is one of the most crucial decisions an organization makes. Hiring new talent can bring significant benefits to a team, increasing productivity, innovation, engagement, and overall performance.

For some time, psychological concepts have been implemented in the hiring process to help recruiters and hiring managers identify and screen talent best suited for a role. For instance, psychometric tools have been used to assess whether candidates have the correct personality traits and cognitive abilities necessary.

With recent advancements in neuroscience, it is now possible to use neuroscientific methods to further understand the nature of human decision-making. This blog explores what neuroscience has already contributed to our understanding of hiring decisions, and examines possible future directions and applications that could be implemented for more objective hiring decisions.

What we already know about making hiring decisions

Theories of human cognition describe why we have the tendency to make the hiring decisions we do, and they explain how different variables can influence our decision making. One such theory, and arguably the most popular, The Dual Process Model [1] proposes that decisions are made using one of two systems:

System 2 is ideal when making hiring decisions, but as these decisions are usually made in a limited amount of time, we often default to System 1 — decisions more easily influenced by different cognitive and emotional factors.

For instance, if we are feeling happy and optimistic, we’re more likely to favor riskier decisions, whereas feeling down will likely lead to more cautious decision making.

Memory, personality, and cognitive biases, such as the confirmation bias and the sunk cost fallacy can also shape our decision making under System 1. This causes people to favor certain candidates over others — usually those most similar to us.

The use case for neuroscience in the workplace

Although models of human cognition are great for understanding why hiring managers and recruiters are likely to make certain hiring decisions, they tell us very little about a candidate’s potential.

Neuroimaging methods, including EEGs (the wearable caps that record electrical signals from neurons) and MRIs (the long scanner that records brain structure and function) have been used fairly successfully to predict performance across various domains.

This has since sparked conversations about the use case of neuroimaging methods for predicting candidate potential, and therefore, informing hiring decisions.

Within scientific literature, there are studies that have successfully demonstrated how neuroimaging can predict cognitive performance. Sunavsky and Poppenk’s 2020 study measured anatomical brain structure using an MRI scan against behavioral measures of divergent thinking and creativity in a sample of 104 adults.

The researchers found creativity to be predicted by features of the frontal region of the brain. Similarly, Joshi et al. (2019) was able to predict intelligence from MRI data, while another was able to predict memory performance from whole brain connectivity (Yamashita at al. 2018).

Although neuroimaging methods may be able to offer an accurate, objective, and bias-free measure of an applicant’s potential, MRIs are very expensive and unpractical. So, it’s unlikely these will be used in the hiring process anytime soon.

However, with this in mind, new, slightly more practical and mobile methods have been developed.

The future of neuroscience in the hiring process

Functional Near-Infrared spectroscopy (FNIRS) is the latest neuroimaging method to arise. It detects similar signals to MRIs, while having the advantage of being portable and easier to undergo.

FNIRS is becoming a more popular tool for assessing cognitive function in everyday life and its widely used among the subfield of neuroergonomics — the application of advanced neuroscience and neuroengineering to understand the human brain at work.

It could even be that down the line, FNIRS are used in conjunction with Virtual Reality Simulators, providing a realistic immersive workplace environment, to measure cognitive and emotional processes that underlie a candidates performance.

This is certainly not to say that this will become standard hiring practice. There are many legal and ethical barriers that will perhaps never be overcome. But, the research in this space is certainly interesting.

• Neuroscience has and will continue to inform our hiring decisions.

Currently, this looks like the models of human decision making that explain why we make the type of decisions we do in different contexts, and off the back of this, different solutions, such as resume anonymization have been developed to prevent biases in the hiring process.

Work in this space is also able to identify different neural predictors of performance, and with recent advances in neuroimaging technology, it probably won’t be long until we see research looking at this within the hiring process.

• The theme of IWD 2023 is #EmbraceEquity, intended to highlight that equal opportunity is not enough. It takes equitable action to bring about true inclusion and belonging.

On this International Women’s Day, we pause to remember women past, present, and future who have all made tremendous strides toward achieving equity through their own courage, resilience, and bravery.

Let’s recommit ourselves to taking real action toward embracing equity for women by creating better working environments, where everyone feels included, respected, and empowered to reach their full potential.

• While this celebration takes place annually, IWD recognizes the focus of its efforts must occur year-round and requires a commitment of people and companies working together to promote the advancement of women daily.

As a woman, a mother, a wife, and a member of the labor force, I am thrilled to be part of this year’s celebration. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the challenges we face collectively and the steps we can take to support women and advance their outlook in organizations today.

Let’s first take a look at the participation of women in the U.S. labor market.

Looking at the state of women in the workplace

When the pandemic struck, more than two million women dropped out of the labor force virtually overnight. Now, three years later, the number of women working has almost fully recovered. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the labor force participation rate of women is 57% as of January 2023, back to pre-pandemic levels.

So what can employers do to move toward greater inclusion and support of women in the global workforce?

In the spirit of International Women’s Day, let’s strive in our companies for greater opportunities that support women where they are. Here are three areas where organizations can take specific actions to achieve greater inclusion and equity for women from all walks of life.

How to effectively support women in your organization

1) Recognize the care burden

A friend of mine once said women today are expected to work like they have no caregiving responsibilities and to serve as caregivers like they have no work. This paradox represents the reality many women are facing today.

As a woman in the workforce, I have experienced first-hand the challenges of being a caregiver to children, once being forced to reduce my own work from full-time to part-time to keep up with the demands of both roles.

According to the Fidelity Investments 2022 American Caregivers Study, female caregivers who are also employed either full or part-time spend an average of 36.2 hours each week on caregiving, 35% more than men.

The same is true in caregiving for adults. Women are the predominant caregivers for the elderly, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, accounting globally for between 57% to upwards of 80% of all caregiving for the elderly.

And according to the same Fidelity Investments Study, this had a great impact on a caregiver’s ability to work. Thirty-three percent permanently lost or reduced their source of work income, and 24% fear this may be a long-term solution.

Understanding that the burden of caring for others is real to women and has a tangible impact on them is the first step toward greater equity — not only within companies today, but in overall society.

2) Provide flexible work and supportive programs

Addressing the burden that falls on women starts by creating a culture of inclusivity, flexibility, and accommodation.

First, in relation to the caregiver burden, organizations can actively establish — and promote — flexible work hours, supportive leave policies, remote and hybrid work options, mental health services, counseling, and other employee assistance programs that directly affirm women in their roles and achieve greater equity.

A 2021 Fidelity Study reported that “64% of working caregivers said they had not asked their employer whether specific benefits or flexible work options were available,” but of that 36% who did ask, “61% reported their employer was willing to work to accommodate their needs.”

Second, ensure that your company takes an active role in developing and promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

According to Employ data, 45% of workers want their employer to have an active voice in moral and social justice conversations. Nearly two in five (38%) would turn down a job offer if the company lacked diversity in its workforce or had no clear goals for improving diversity.

Create a welcoming environment that is inclusive for all walks of life — from age, race, sex, gender, religious affiliation, parental status, disability status, military status, and neurodivergence.

Also, create opportunities for women in underrepresented sectors.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, become a leader in relation to the disparity of women in the workforce. Work to actively change the tangible pay gap that exists, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, where women earn just 82 cents for every dollar a man earns.

Creating an environment where women feel welcome, supported, and recognized for their contributions both within the organization — and outside of work — will pay dividends for employee engagement, loyalty, productivity, and innovation.

3) End the employment gap bias

One inherent bias that exists for employers today is generalizing employment history gaps for those individuals seeking work. Long gaps in work service are seen as negative to organizations and may blind them to potential talent who were fulfilling home or familial obligations in a system that does not support caregivers.

The Fidelity Investments Study found that 33% of caregivers permanently lost or reduced their source of income and, on average, women spend 3.6 years longer than men providing care for their loved ones.

• This is the point at which the gap in work history becomes much harder to overcome. In fact, one study suggests interview chances significantly decreased for applicants with work gaps of three or more years.

For women wanting to re-enter the workforce, particularly after a long pause, organizations must proactively support hiring women despite longer career breaks.

They should advocate for systems and structures that support the demands placed on women and demonstrate their commitment to the value women add to the workforce.

Let’s celebrate today, then get to work

International Women’s Day offers the moment organizations need to rally together, showcase the achievements of women, and support them in their efforts to create a more accepting, welcoming, and progressive workplace.

Let’s dig in and do the work together where the workforce becomes a representation of our society and embraces equity by providing opportunities that support women in their jobs and in their lives.

It’s become a key success metric that it’s now an evaluation category for the Fortune 500 list, reminding companies just how vital it is to consistently improve their DEI efforts — and proving that the best lead by example.

Diversity begins with recruiting: 8 things to consider with your enterprise’s DEI recruiting strategy

A diverse company begins with recruiting and focusing on its importance cannot be overstated.

Within TA, 80% of recruiting professionals said diversity hiring was a top priority last year. However, companies still struggle to build a diverse pipeline of talent to meet the standards job candidates expect.

But, the critical point to remember is that modern DEI makes considerations for much more than ever before. Here are the eight ways to look at DEI across recruiting.

1) Racial diversity

The phrase DEI usually evokes thoughts of racial diversity, a vital component of inclusion plans in any organization. Race refers to a person’s grouping based on physical traits despite races not being biologically defined. Examples of racial identifications include Caucasian, African, and Asian.

2) Cultural diversity

Cultural diversity can mean something different to everyone, but in this case, we’re using it to refer to culture in regard to ethnicity. There are a great many ethnic groups acknowledged worldwide, but examples include Black or African American, American Indian, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander.

3) Gender diversity

Traditionally, gender has been depicted as either male or female. As the spectrum of gender is more inclusive, gender diversity can include cisgender, gender fluid, or agender individuals.

Companies considering gender inclusion in their company will avoid gender-specific language in job descriptions and other content to avoid accidental discrimination or alienation of any particular identification.

4) Generational diversity

Generational diversity is the concept of employing a wide range of generations at an org. Today, there are likely four different generations in your talent pipeline: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.

5) Sexual orientation

Diversity in sexual orientation means making space for individuals using classifications gathered under the acronym LGBTQIA+. This stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual, with the ‘plus’ indicating this list continues for many more characterizations.

6) Familial status

Familial status refers to inclusion in the workplace regardless of a person’s role outside of the home. Supporting DEI regardless of familial status includes those with or without children and allows for multiple definitions of family.

7) Physical and mental disabilities

The disability community is diverse, but very often overlooked. Disability diversity may come in physical form, from wheelchair accommodations to audio aid for visually impaired people.

But, it’s important to remember that disability inclusion also includes neurodivergence, which refers to cognitive functioning which is outside of what is considered ‘typical’. This can include conditions such as Autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, Dyslexia, and many more.

8) Work experience diversity

Diversity of experience encompasses the breadth and depth of work experience across many roles, functions, types of organizations, industries, and more. Similarly, educational diversity demonstrates an understanding that not every role requires a certain level of education.

Inclusion in this area means understanding the many different backgrounds and experiences that can make a person well-suited for a role, rather than a single line of promotions.

The state of DEI in the workplace

When it comes to securing a job, employees often feel their race, gender or ethnicity impacts their employment. Half of employees believe their race, gender, or ethnicity has hindered them in securing a job.

Many employees have made an active effort to hide parts of their identity (e.g., removing profile pictures from LinkedIn; hiding their accent, physical disability, or natural hair) to increase their hiring odds.

Not only are candidates looking at what you say about DEI, but they’re also not shy about holding companies accountable. About 80% of job seekers have checked a company’s website for their stance on DEI before applying. And 57% ask their employer about the culture of DEI at the org in the interview.

This data reveals that companies must clearly communicate their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, but also execute these programs well to attract (and keep) top talent.

Where companies are hitting the mark with DEI recruiting and hiring efforts today

Drastic improvements have been made in recent years, ranging from DEI-centered hiring to increased training for onboarding experiences. Companies have improved communications around DEI efforts, shared their DEI stats publicly, and required DEI training as a part of their onboarding experience.

Looking forward with promise

Many thought leaders in the industry believe that progress within DEI efforts starts with a diverse pipeline.

While this is a major contributor to having a more diverse talent pool, the key to success is a strong culture of inclusivity and belonging. Improvement in these areas is a promising sign, as we look toward the future.

Discover how why your SMB should double down on DEI initiatives in the coming years. Download your free copy of our eBook to get expert insights that can aid your org’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

• That means your CEO, CHRO, TA leader, and managers must work in tandem to ensure your business regularly entices active job seekers of various backgrounds to apply for open roles.

Moreover, it means making sure each recruiter at your company sources, nurtures, and advances diverse talent of different ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities.

Only when such collaborative recruitment and hiring practices are implemented at your small business can you realize greater workplace diversity. (And, in turn, greater productivity, more innovation, and amplified growth). The question now is: How can you get started?

10+ tips for your diversity hiring strategy

Without further ado, here are several diversity hiring insights that can advance your DEI recruiting efforts and ensure you build (and continue to grow) a diverse workforce in the years ahead.

Recognize diversity is not just skin deep

Recognize that diversity doesn’t simply mean “legally protected classes” (i.e., race, gender, disability). Real diversity also includes backgrounds, experiences, skill sets, and ways of thinking.

Hiring managers have a tendency to want to hire people that act and think like them. This is where diversity is lost the most. Instead, HMs should focus solely on the needs of the role. Doing so enables them to fairly assess and rate candidates and, at the end of the day, extend offers to the right folks.

This requires that the managers put their own bias in check and focus on what is truly relevant.

Steven Smith, ApplicantPro

Seek referrals from employees at your SMB

Your (hopefully already) diverse workforce can provide the different perspectives you need and connect you to candidates who might have otherwise been overlooked or unreachable for open roles. But, don’t forget they can also recommend diverse talent in their networks who may be good fits.

In other words? Use the diversity you already have at your org to advance it further.

Ryan Nouis, TruPath

Have flexible job descriptions and requirements

A lot of job descriptions lay out specific “must-haves.” Hiring decision-makers then label many candidates as “overqualified” or “underqualified.” Finding someone that is exactly the right amount of qualified is hard enough, even before considering your diversity initiatives.

When you hire for diversity, you will attract people with an incredible range of experience and skills. So, don’t be fixated on your initial job description. When you find someone that will exceed expectations, find a way to work with them. Recognize training will be required anyway.

Melissa Kelly, Virtual Team Building

Use a diverse interview panel to speak with prospects

Advancing your diversity hiring initiatives is a commitment to having a diverse group of people asking candidates questions in the interview process and communicating with them in each recruiting stage.

• After all, it is the first part of acquiring potential talents to join your ranks, so the presence of recruiters from different gender, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds is critical in this step.

With a diverse panel, you acquire varying perspectives to eliminate biases during the recruitment stage. What’s more you also show candidates of your commitment to diversity.

All in all, it’s a great way to attract and retain employees looking to join a truly diverse workplace.

Nunzio Ross, Majesty Coffee

Create company policies with diversity hiring in mind

Want to attract diversity to your company? You need policies that work for diverse teams.

Honor holidays from various religions. Have clear (and severe) penalties for instances of discrimination. Allow flexible schedules for employees’ shifting needs. These are just some examples.

Remember: It’s one thing to claim that your company embraces diversity. But, it’s an entirely other thing altogether to enforce rules that actually support those values around DEI at your business.

Johannes Larsson, JohannesLarsson.com

Diversify your talent pool and test sourcing channels

With the spotlight on recruiters to produce diverse candidate slates, the number one question I get asked as a diversity consultant is how to effectively advance your diversity hiring initiatives.

• The answer is to diversify your sourcing pools.

Creating partnerships with orgs that are outside of the typical sourcing initiative such as local churches (all denominations), women’s shelters, community centers and local chambers of commerce can help an organization tap into talent that otherwise goes unnoticed.

Creating mutually beneficial partnerships with these communities is the key to successfully adding this technique to your current diversity hiring efforts and overall DEI initiatives.

Lekeshia Hicks, Lekeshia Angelique Consulting

Meet diverse talent where they spend their time

Many digital platforms have appeared to connect the workforce to diverse candidates in recent years. One effective technique to advance your diversity hiring initiatives is to meet people where they are.

• If you’re looking to connect with diverse early career talent, utilize effective tools like WayUp or Handshake.
• On Slack, you can connect with community groups like HireBlack and OutinTech.
• On LinkedIn, create a list of HBCU, MSI, or AAPI institutions and spend time sourcing specifically from those lists.

In this day and age, there is no excuse for recruiting teams to not be able to attract, identify, and hire qualified, diverse candidates. Get out there, do the work and meet people where they are so that you can help build a winning hiring strategy built on diversity and inclusion.

Jim Leahy, DailyPay

Advance your diversity hiring with ATS software

Everyone has implicit biases that can impact how we see others, even if we don’t realize it. For this reason, it’s vital for hiring managers to use an applicant tracking system (ATS) in the hiring process.

The best applicant tracking software vendors offer resume parsing capabilities that can search for specific educational qualifications or skills, ignoring things like ethnicity and race, appearance, and name, which can trigger an unconscious bias in a hiring manager and adversely impact diversity hiring efforts.

An ATS alone can’t overcome implicit biases. But, it can ensure all qualified applicants are seen by the hiring manager. Hiring managers do also need to learn to identify implicit biases so that they can be overcome. Look over job listings wit them to ensure the wording isn’t gendered or otherwise biased.

Dave Rietsema, Matchr

Hide candidate names and info to reduce bias

Blind hiring has helped us make great strides in our DEI hiring initiatives. We hide irrelevant info from our resumes and applications during the screening process. Our hiring team has naturally become more diverse as we handpick our candidate shortlists without knowing their names.

• But, it doesn’t stop at hidden names.

We also hide their gender, address, college name, or graduation date. During hiring, these big factors can cause unintentional bias regarding gender, age, race, and income. We assign our applicants by number, and the first time we learn these more personal details is on interview day.

John Li, Fig Loans

Measure your diversity hiring success over time

If you really want to advance your diversity hiring initiatives, you need to monitor and improve upon your diversity recruiting metrics. (That is, use your talent data.) If you aren’t measuring your success tied to diversity hiring goals, simply put, you won’t be able to really improve your techniques.

You can also implement anecdotal data. Ask female applicants for feedback, for example. You want to understand the experiences of women and other marginalized groups so that you can provide a better experience for them to obtain career opportunities at your company.

Ely Khakshouri, Retrospec

Set (and stick to) highly specific DEI hiring deadlines

More important than making the right decisions is to follow them up with necessary actions. If you’ve decided to introduce diversity hiring initiatives in your org, the first thing to do is identify goals and match them with appropriate deadlines.

In establishing goal dates, you ensure that every milestone that precedes the meeting of these goals is worked out in time and with the necessary effort. From transforming content for job postings to showcasing your improved diversity policies, there are several steps that prove vital.

Azmaira Maker, Ph.D., Aspiring Families

Learn how JazzHR customers across industries use our powerful ATS to accelerate their diversity recruitment strategies — and how you can do the same by investing in our recruiting software.

But, while Mother’s Day is a pause for recognizing the contributions, love, sacrifices, and support that mothers everywhere provide, I can’t help feeling that it seems somewhat artificial.

I am definitely not trying to seem cynical. I truly appreciate the gratitude that is shown each May. Yet I can’t help but wonder, what if moms everywhere — working in an office or building, working from home, or managing the home — were recognized every day for their contributions and impact?

Data on women and mothers in the workplace

Based on a report from UN Women, women’s economic empowerment is a major contributor in boosting productivity and growing the economy. Even more, achieving economic equality for women by providing employment and leadership opportunities benefits organizations directly.

McKinsey & Company indicates that “companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions of organizational performance.”

More telling, mothers with young kids are less likely to participate in the labor force than mothers with older children. In fact, only two out of three moms with young children are currently working.

With this data in mind, what should your org’s response be, when it comes to moms in the workforce?

How employers should respond to working moms

A recent Forbes article may have best summarized the challenges moms face when it comes to working. “Companies have invested in the training and education of their female workforce only to find that when they become mothers, a leaky pipeline of talent begins.

Collectively, organizations must press to keep women working even as they become mothers, and more importantly, create policies and programs that support them.

How does this look?

Well, it means means creating a culture of inclusivity, flexibility, and accommodation through flexible work hours, supportive leave policies, remote and hybrid work options, mental health services, counseling, and other employee assistance programs that directly affirm women in their roles.

It also means your leadership team and managers purposefully recognizing and supporting women in the workforce for their unique contributions and situation.

But, despite being the primary earners in their families, “mothers continue to bear both the physical and mental load of motherhood disproportionately more than their partners.

Without addressing issues like the motherhood penalty, affordable childcare, parental leave, and creating flexible work options that enable working mothers to integrate their work and mothering responsibilities,” women will continue to leave the workforce at a higher rate than men.

Second, it means developing and focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Create a welcoming environment for all people that is inclusive of all walks of life — from age, race, sex, gender identity, religious affiliation, orientation, parental status, disability status, military status, and neurodivergence.

Because when they do, women lift up economies and build more high performing organizations.

By creating an environment where women feel welcome, supported, and recognized for their contributions both within the organization — and outside of work — employers will see increased employee engagement, loyalty, productivity, and innovation.

How recruiters can entice mothers to apply

As recruiters and talent acquisition professionals, it is essential to provide an optimal candidate experience to attract, nurture, and hire top talent. A positive candidate experience really comes down to the relationship or interactions candidates have with your employer brand.

Any time candidates visit your website, view content, read a job description, or apply for a job, they are interacting with your company. And your goal is to create the most optimized and engaging experience for candidates so you can build the best workforce for your brand.

How does this relate to mothers in the workforce? Well, for starters, think about the types of people your organization features on your career site today:

• Are you showing working parents and telling their stories?
• How does your culture support mothers in particular?
• What about offering personalized job recommendations and content?

Are you giving mobile-optimized sites that meet working mothers where they are? Taking it a step further, have you simplified the application process down to its easiest level and provided easy to schedule interviews for busy moms looking for new roles?

Perhaps more unconscious, are you potentially eliminating mothers who have employment gaps in their resume without digging deeper on why those gaps exist? One study suggests the chances of getting an interview fall by more than 50% after two years out of the labor force.

Addressing this type of unconscious bias and the motherhood penalty that inherently exists in our workforce is vital if talent acquisition professionals are to pave the way forward to working moms.

Keeping working mothers’ needs top of mind in your recruiting and hiring processes

The 2022 Job Seeker Nation Report provides recent insights into the motivations of working parents.

Specifically, for workers with children under age 18, 51% are more likely now to actively look for a new job or plan to within the next year, and 56% are likely to switch jobs to make more money.

That means that, out of two working parents, one of them is considering leaving your org right now.

Make sure that as you hire and seek the best talent that you are ensuring moms get a fair shake, and are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as candidates throughout the hiring process. (And don’t forget to celebrate the mothers in your life.)

• Socially: Women who make an effort to fix longstanding issues (e.g., gender pay gap)
• Economically: Female leaders at businesses of all kinds (not just Fortune 500 brands)
• Culturally: For instance, women of color who break through barriers in film, music, and TV
• Politically: Local, regional, and state leaders who positively impact their communities

And yet, it’s important attention is (rightfully) paid to women throughout the year — not just a single day of the year. To do so requires a commitment of people and organizations working together to promote the advancement of women every day.

As a woman, a mother, wife, and member of the labor force, I am thrilled to be part of this celebration, and would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the challenges we face collectively, and the steps we can take to support women and advance their outlook across orgs today.

Let’s first look at the state of women in the workplace — particularly those in the U.S. labor market.

Recent setbacks for women in the workplace

Since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the participation of women in the workforce has dropped drastically. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the labor force participation rate of women is at just 56.8% as of January 2022 — markedly lower than before the pandemic began.

And the rate of women in the workplace has not rebounded since. That means women’s advances over the last 30 years have been fully erased, without promises for potential gains in the future.

This data is alarming. No business leaders wants to see so many women leave their companies. But, it does represent an opportunity for employers and for employees alike.

3 ways to support women in the workplace

In the spirit of IWD, execs must move toward greater support and inclusion of women in the workplace (and global workforce at large). With that in mind, let’s examine how C-suites can better recognize and support women of all races, gender identities, orientations, abilities, and backgrounds.

1) Acknowledge the burden of care falls to women

A friend of mine once said women today are expected to work like they have no caregiving responsibilities, and to serve as caregivers like they have no work.

This paradox represents the reality many women are facing today. As a woman in the workforce, I have experienced first-hand the challenges associated with being a caregiver to children, once being forced to reduce my own work from full-time to part-time to keep up with the demands of both roles.

Further, 59% of women were forced to leave their jobs when caring for children versus 39% of men, 45% reduced their work hours, and 11% left the workforce for six or more months.

The same is true in caregiving for adults. Women are the predominate caregivers for the elderly, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, accounting globally for between 57% to upwards of 80% of all caregiving for the elderly.

And, according to the same Fidelity Investments Study, this had great impact to women as workers.

Understanding that the burden of caring for others is real to women and has a tangible impact on them is the first step toward greater recognition of their contributions not only within companies today, but in overall society.

2) Establish programs that support all women

Addressing the burden that falls to women starts by creating a culture of inclusivity, flexibility, and accommodation.

First, in relation to the caregiver burden, organizations can actively establish — and promote — flexible work hours, supportive leave policies, remote and hybrid work options, mental health services, counseling, and other employee assistance programs that directly affirm women in their roles.

Interestingly enough, the Fidelity research shows that “64% of working caregivers said they had not asked their employer whether specific benefits or flexible work options were available,” but of those 36% who did ask, “61% reported their employer was willing to work to accommodate their needs.”

Second, ensure that your company takes an active role in developing and focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Create a welcoming environment for all people that is inclusive of all walks of life.

That means ensuring your business is accepting of and builds a culture around workers of different ages, races, sex, gender identities, religious affiliations, orientations, parental status, disability status, military status, and neurodivergence.

Top talent teams are familiar with creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

• Focus on hiring women in underrepresented sectors, like technology.

Deloitte reports that large technology companies are making “slow, but steady progress” with an increasing proportion of females in technical roles. In fact, over the past three years, the average number of women in these types of roles has risen nearly three percent to 25% overall.

Creating an environment where women feel welcome, supported, and recognized for their contributions both within the organization — and outside of work — will pay dividends for employee engagement, loyalty, productivity, and innovation.

3) Stop the bias of employment history gaps 

One inherent bias that exists for employers today is generalizing employment history gaps for those individuals seeking work. Long gaps in work service are seen as negative to orgs and may blind them to potential talent who were fulfilling home or familial obligations in a system that does not support caregivers.

The Fidelity Investments Study found that 53% of workers who were required to step away from their careers reported their time away was longer than anticipated, and 37% indicated they earned less money once they were able to return to work.

This is the point at which the gap in work history becomes much harder to overcome.

In fact, as two years turn into three, one study suggests the chances of getting an interview fall by more than 50%.” For women wanting to re-enter the workforce, particularly after a long pause due to the pandemic, organizations must proactively support hiring women despite longer career breaks.

They must awaken to the realization that caregiving should not stunt women’s careers.

Instead, they should advocate for systems and structures that support the demands placed on women and demonstrate their commitment to the value women add in the workforce.

Using IWD as a “launchpad” for better supporting women in the workplace today

The IWD celebration is the moment orgs need to rally together, showcase the achievements of women, and support them in their efforts to create a more accepting, welcoming, progressive workplace.

Let’s dig in and do the work together where the workforce becomes a representation of our society and values the holistic contributions of women in their jobs and in their lives.

• Find out where to connect with members of historically underrepresented groups online and offline, then tailor messaging to this talent to recruit diverse candidates for open roles.

Seems simple, right? And yet, too many hiring teams today fail to implement consistently high-quality diversity recruitment approaches that add individuals in marginalized groups to their talent pipeline and advance those individuals in their recruitment process, all the way to the offer stage.

This ineffectiveness with their DEI recruiting leads to fewer potential candidates of varying backgrounds applying for positions and engaging with nurture messaging. And that ultimately leads to less diverse teams at their businesses — a detriment to their culture and bottom line.

The good news? Enhancing your diversity hiring efforts is fairly straightforward. To better source diverse candidates and get them to join your company, you just need to pay more attention to the nitty-gritty details of your day-to-day recruitment processes and refine “weak” areas accordingly.

3 diversity sourcing strategies for SMBs

According to Gartner, only 36% of DEI “leaders” report that their organization has been effective at hiring a diverse workforce. So, what can you do to build a strong diversity sourcing strategy?

The best place to start, per Employ SVP Customer Retention & Growth Jessica Green, is to just begin.

“The first step to making the efforts genuine is to look inward and be honest about where you are so that the [DEI] strategy is built accurately and represents a path to progress,” Jessica told StrategicCHRO360.

With that in mind, here are a few tips that can help you improve the diversity makeup of your talent pool — and get on your way to adding more highly qualified diverse team members to your SMB

1) Use a diverse array of sources (pun intended)

LinkedIn is an obvious choice, but it is, in fact, a great place to start. In 2020, the popular career-centric social media site found that topics like diversity were driving conversation on the platform with posts tied to DEI receiving 91% more engagement than the average company post.

Try joining inclusive LinkedIn groups such as this D&I Leaders group to connect with other HR pros and share ideas. And, of course, reach out to candidates on the platform. You can do this by building a list of keywords that are relevant to candidates, then searching within those parameters.

• Although LinkedIn is a useful place to look for candidates, it does have its limitations.

Thus, there are many other alternatives worth exploring. Specifically, job boards and career communities explicitly meant for different niche diverse groups to find new work opportunities. Platforms intended to align diverse talent with inclusive businesses include Jopwell, Include.io, Hire Autism, and Pink Jobs.

2) Try a variety of candidate engagement methods

Diversity sourcing is best done at a local, community level. So, consider starting a talent acquisition outreach program by speaking to several leading schools, colleges, and universities in your area.

• Partner with student and professional associations at these institutions.

If it’s not possible to meet with these groups in person, or if you’re hiring on a regional or national level, then try attending virtual career fairs. There are plenty of events across the U.S. that are targeted at engaging minority groups.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers offers a wealth of resources and even a support network to help SMBs like yours source top talent within diverse communities and education bodies.

3) Ensure job-related messaging appeals to diverse talent

Sourcing is not just about being where diverse candidates are. It’s also about the message you’re putting out there. So, make sure you’ve built inclusive language into all your job descriptions.

Tools like this free gender decoder tool can catch unintentionally exclusive language that you may have missed. Ensuring only inclusive terms are used can provide a big boost to your employment brand.

Moreover, indicate your support for DEI programs at your business on your careers page and throughout your company website. Lyft provides a fantastic example of how to do this right.

• It’s also important to put your money where your mouth is. That is to say, offer real-world accommodations within the interview process and job role, and advertise that to candidates.

Think along the lines of flexible working hours and job shares, or time-off options that take into consideration a range of religious holidays or short-term leave requests.

These aren’t simply “perks.” By offering jobs with accommodations built-in, you remove a barrier to entry (read: applying) for underrepresented candidates. In today’s hiring landscape, this is really a basic, table-stakes requirement for any business that wants to show they’re truly committed to DEI.

Strategic diversity sourcing is just the start

Address unconscious bias in the candidate evaluation process. Ensure you refer to prospective hires by the correct pronouns. Involve members of your workforce in various DEI initiatives and discussions.

Making progress with DEI at large is a long-term endeavor.

That said, abide by the best practices above, and you’ll see the desired progress with your diversity sourcing strategy — and, thereby, hire more diverse candidates who can fill key roles across your SMB.

Especially during “down” hiring periods when competition for talent is high. As Jessica noted, “a slow hiring season is a prime time to build a more diverse talent pipeline and nurture that talent over time.”

Speak with the JazzHR team today to learn how you can use our best-in-class ATS for SMBs to elevate your diversity sourcing strategy and build a more diverse workforce over time.

Put plainly, a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to the success of your company and the well-being of your employees. Oftentimes, DEI can lead to some uncomfortable conversations that need to be faced head-on. That said, these discussions are more than worth having if it leads to a more:

• Diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce that provides equal opportunities for employees
• Warm, positive and welcoming work environment in which all employees feel safe and heard
• Productive and collaborative work culture that sparks innovation and grows your bottom line

Now, the question is: What next steps can you and your small business do to not just promote diversity and inclusion in your workplace, but also set your diverse talent up for success, make them feel comfortable in their roles, and develop and make progress with your DEI initiatives?

The answer is to follow these seven steps.

7 ways to embrace diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Step #1: Get buy-in from your business leaders

Business leaders align actions with their overarching vision. So, if you can get buy-in from your c-suite, you’ll be able to integrate D&I into your organization and enact real change.

• As Simon Sinek famously says, “Great leaders inspire action.”

Leaders should communicate their commitment throughout the business and with third party partners, clients or customers. A great way to set the tone is with an open letter of solidarity and support from management.

Alongside this, leaders need to establish tangible goals. Just Capital’s study found only 11% of the 890 companies surveyed disclosed actual, measurable targets in this area.

This McKinsey report contains a good example, whereby they cite a company that is aiming to employee women in 40% of their senior executive roles. They’ve incentivized progress by tying executives’ bonuses to achieving inclusion and diversity goals.

Step #2: Start employee resource groups (ERG)

Employee resource groups are employee-led groups, run by volunteers, that foster a diverse, inclusive workplace in line with business objectives. There are great examples of ERGs at companies such as at Ernst & Young, Dell Technologies, and the Women at Microsoft.

In short, when you know 90% of Fortune 500 companies — ones already focused on creating a diverse workplace — have ERGs, they’re an integral component to promoting inclusivity.

The biggest benefits of developing (and empowering — more on this shortly) ERGs include:

• Increased awareness at all levels
• A safe space for communication 
• Accountable, productive outcomes 
• Improved employee engagement 
• Empowered and happy employees 
• Potential for developing future leaders 

All ERGs are informal or structured. You might have one, or several. They may take different forms, such as a community network, mentor circle or diversity committee. In any case, you want to create groups that focus on diversity and inclusion activities in the workplace.

That way, there is consistent attention paid to this topic.

Step #3: Ensure ERGs are given ample resources

Although ERGs are voluntary, once employees are members, they require allocated time to fulfill the group’s responsibilities. This time can then be factored into 1:1s and be a part of personal development — perhaps even a step toward future managerial and leadership roles.

Here are some resources you can give your employees:

• A designated number of hours to follow up on core ERG activities 
• A meeting space (or a video conferencing app for remote workers) 
• A channel on your intranet or some access to internal communications
• Access to marketing materials to help build awareness of their ERG
• An instant messaging channel or forum to chat with other members
• Training on a given topic tied to the ERG and on managing projects 

If you want more insights on how to give ERG members the requisite resources to tackle important initiatives, check out DiversityBestPractices.com, Catalyst.org, and ResourceGroups.com.

Step #4: Involve everyone at your small business

Bringing a cross-section of your company together ensures representation for everyone.

Try to involve people from management and members of each department as well as entry-level and long-standing employees. You need people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to lend their voices to the conversation.

That doesn’t mean you have to start with a big group. Start small and grow through ongoing promotion. People are more likely to join an established organization with clear initiatives.

Step #5: Facilitate ways to give DEI-related feedback

Why not have those uncomfortable conversations in comfortable settings? Give employees a safe space to talk in focus groups or with peer-to-peer sharing. Or, offer the option of anonymity with employee polls.

• On top of this, use a group chat to share relevant learning materials and literature (e.g., info on how your business approaches hiring for diversity today).

Workshops are also a brilliant format for brainstorming ideas. Everyone loves a whiteboard and Post-It notes. Read this blog about how to talk about diversity at work from our partners at Namely.

Top tip: Train up or hire an experienced workshop facilitator to keep the conversation on track.

Step #6: Encourage employees to share their thoughts

In Pamela Newkirk’s book, Diversity.Inc: the Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business, she quotes filmmaker Misan Sagay: “People want diversity as long as they don’t have to do it. A lot of the times they want our physical presence, but not our voice.”

When having a conversation about DEI, practice active listening. That is, use verbal and non-verbal cues, like eye-contact, to show responsiveness. Pay full attention to the speaker.

No matter what level you are within a business, hear difficult feedback with a compassionate ear. Don’t become defensive or minimize someone else’s experience. This helps employees communicate openly and honestly and know they can share their opinions with fear of any sort of backlash.

(Not that there would be at your company, but it’s worth being proactive in noting all voices are welcome.)

Step #7: Take action on data and employee feedback

Employee resource groups exist to turn words into actions. Here are some practical tips that can empower ERG members and others across your business to help contribute to DEI goals:

Think small 

A tiny change could make a big difference. For example, women are less likely to say “yes” when asked if they are able to perform a task, even if they’re just as qualified as their male counterparts. So, change the way tasks are allocated or find different ways to get feedback on a brief to account for this.

Think local 

Diversity needs to be in place at a team level. Everyone should feel like they belong in any department, from HR to Engineering. Aggregated figures of a diverse number of employees across a company, particularly those that ignore intersectionality, may not show the full picture.

Think values 

Focus on values. Ivy League qualifications are great, but if that’s all you look for in a job applicant then you risk the pitfall of unconscious bias. A values-based system of hiring can help to attract diverse candidates and improve the inclusivity of your workplace culture.

Embrace the challenge 

We’ve discussed why uncomfortable conversations are vital for promoting diversity and inclusion, how you can facilitate them, and the tips you should follow. From creating an ERG, to changing the way your business communicates, there’s plenty of actionable tasks you can take away.

Taking action to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace

As you go forward, be sure to measure things like employee engagement or recruitment, retention, and promotion rates. These are good indicators that you’re on the right track. And, keep asking for feedback, especially after big initiatives or changes.

Remember: This is an ongoing endeavor — and there will always be room to grow to continually and consistently improve diversity in the workplace and empower your diverse workforce to thrive.

Learn how to enhance your diversity recruitment with JazzHR’s SMB-centric applicant tracking system.

• “Any device, software or equipment that helps people work around their challenges.”

It’s estimated that just one in 10 people have access to the assistive technology they need. There’s a clear need for improvement, but it’s a little daunting — if ‘assistive technology’ encompasses everything from wheelchairs to air purifiers, where should businesses begin?

5 assistive technology examples

Here are five easy-to-adopt options to help address the deficit.

1) Physical accessibility improvements

When you think “accessible office”, we’re willing to bet wheelchair ramps were one of the first things to come to mind. They do fall under the assistive technology umbrella, but they’re not the full story.

Clean air, walkways with potential trip hazards cleared or marked and good lighting are also important, as per the advice from UC Santa Cruz. The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights has also produced a helpful checklist based on the latest ADA guidelines.

2) Remote working tools

There’s recent evidence to suggest remote work breaks down employment barriers for those with disabilities. There’s also clear evidence that businesses are embracing the flexible or hybrid office post-pandemic.

If your org isn’t already offering WFH options, now is a good time to start. Today, it’s likely that you already have file-sharing, instant messaging, and video conferencing tools in place to facilitate remote work.

Your business has been using assistive technology without even knowing it.

3) Screen readers

Screen readers do what you might expect them to: read digital text on behalf of visually impaired users and translate it into audio. On devices with the capability, they translate it to a braille display.

There are countless providers of screen reader software, so it’s likely that you’ll find one that integrates with your current toolset. If not, it may be worth considering new tools that better serve your entire workforce.

The American Foundation for the Blind has a helpful fact sheet and list of providers with prices ranging from “free to $1,200.”

4) Accessible websites

Ensure that your company’s intranet and application portal follows best practices for accessibility. That includes changing colors and themes to meet readability standards. You can find the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) here, courtesy of the World Wide Web Consortium.

A simple — and often overlooked — assistive technology is “alt-text”. It’s the descriptive pop-up that website users see when they hover over an image and can be translated by screen readers.

Make sure you’ve updated the alt-text on all of your images. It’s SEO best practice, but more importantly, it could mean the difference between a visually impaired applicant or an employee understanding a web page.

5) Dictation software

In simple terms, dictation technology allows people to write by talking. For those that struggle to write — whether that’s because of dyslexia, motor skill challenges, or something else — it removes the barrier between them and communication.

Look for options that integrate with your comms platforms to make the process as seamless as possible for your employees. Understood have helpful links on their Dictation Technology page.

Getting started with assistive technology adoption

The technology we’ve suggested may just be the tip of the iceberg, but they’re affordable, easy-to-implement, and could have a huge impact on the well-being (and productivity) of your staff.

Disability employment rates are slowly rising. They’ll rise a lot faster if more businesses signpost their commitment to inclusivity, and use assistive technology to make their application processes — and workplaces — more accessible.

• Ensure the business regularly hires people of color and those from other historically underrepresented groups and retains diverse employees
• Create a strong company culture through the creation of employee resource groups and implementation of other workforce engagement efforts
• Strengthen the overall business strategy by establishing a safe and welcoming work environment where every employee can thrive

“Meaningful [DEI] progress requires dedication,” McKinsey Company analysts recently wrote. “The DEI strategy should be continually refined as pilot projects deliver results, lessons are learned, leaders and employees develop new skills and awareness, and the business’s overarching strategy evolves.

Your SMB may not have Vice President of DEI or even a dedicated DEI committee that regularly collects and acts on feedback from workers to increase employee satisfaction.

• However, your small business leaders must ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion is a top priority at all times to attract and retain top talent and drive long-term business growth.

If your organization — including your executives, people managers, and HR and hiring teams — is looking to develop new DEI programs this year, you’ve come to the right place.

Understanding the importance of DEI programs

One of the major upsides to mature DEI programs is a rise in workforce satisfaction.

Employees are happier when their leaders, human resources team, and people managers work in tandem to hire more members of underrepresented groups, like sexual orientations and ethnicities, and create an inclusive work environment where people are treated and paid fairly.

• That said, 75% of workers think their employers need to do more in terms of DEI efforts that not just positively impact their job and business satisfaction, but also have an outsized impact externally.

It’s not just existing staff that’ll appreciate a sustained commitment to inclusivity. Numbers suggest that job seekers are looking for evidence of diversity at work and that success can be compounded.

Proof of this can be found in Glassdoor’s annual Diversity and Inclusion Survey, which found four in five minority applicants count a diverse workforce as a deciding factor when evaluating an employer.

So, ask yourself: What is your SMB doing to implement DEI programs (and specific, measurable goals tied to them) that help you build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace?

Developing dedicated DEI programs around training

One-off diversity workshops aren’t enough anymore. In fact, they’re viewed as doing the bare minimum by employees. As a group of researchers publishing in the Harvard Business Review put it:

“Virtually all Fortune 500 companies offer diversity training to their employees … even when the training is beneficial, the effects may not last after the program ends.”

• In order for anti-bias training to actually work, it needs to be reinforced regularly. The efficacy of a one-off workshop drops off as time goes on, and subconscious biases can resurface.

The University of Buffalo’s Katerina Bezrukova studied 40 years’ worth of DEI training results, and also found that “over time … attitudes regressed to what they were before the training.”

Remember: Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs don’t always have to involve lengthy and expensive workshops. Instead, learning experiences should be facilitated on a day-to-day basis by business and HR leaders and people managers by embedding diversity practice into company culture.

Business News Daily’s Paula Fernandes shared expert advice based on Bezrukova’s research. We think it’s a great summary of how to conduct DEI training.

“Roll out a series of programs, events, celebrations, mentoring opportunities and other experiences for continual learning,” said Paula. “This way, it becomes more about reinforcement of positive behavior than an annual lecture of all the prohibitive rules.”

Ensuring you have a sustainable inclusive hiring strategy

Good news: We already have a how-to guide on diversity hiring. If you read that and abide by our tips, you’ll (hopefully) end up with stronger, more inclusive recruitment processes. Here, though, let’s look at the ways in which you can measure and improve your diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

You wouldn’t let your social media campaigns go un-evaluated. Your DEI programs are far more important than a few Twitter (er, X) posts. It’s time to track your inclusivity performance with smart goals, using frameworks like KPIs or OKRs. Align inclusivity goals with your company goals.

• Start measuring, and you’ll be able to take data-backed action to improve your DEI efforts and compound your successes. If all goes according to plan, you’ll have a healthy set of statistics that you can translate into positive employer branding that attracts even more diverse talent.

“DEI metrics provide a tangible way to gain data-driven insights into diversity’s impact on business performance” and “help leaders address backlash and meet mandated reporting requirements,” according to The Conference Board.

Here’s a helpful LinkedIn guide to the kinds of DEI metrics your hiring team, in particular, should be tracking. Once you’ve defined your goals, ensure that your applicant tracking system (ATS) is capable of collecting and centralizing all your diversity recruiting and candidate data in a single location.

(One that ideally dynamically updates and offers rich analytics tied to your DEI hiring initiatives.)

Communicating your commitment to DEI programs

A 2020 Quantum Workplace report found 48% of business professionals said that “respect” is the most important contributor to “a culture of inclusion.” (A sentiment your staff likely agrees with.)

Respect isn’t a token show of support. It’s an ongoing set of actions that tell employees you value their opinions. For your team to feel respected, they need to see consistency on the part of their employers when it comes to DEI efforts.

• One of the simplest ways to communicate respect for your team is to listen to them, and act on the suggestions that arise from your conversations.

“No workplace is perfect when it comes to [DEI programs],” The Gallup CHRO Roundtable Managing Director and Partner Jeremie Brecheisen wrote for Harvard Business Review.

“But, the strongest have something in common: They listen to their people and see beyond their own worldviews before they start trying to solve a problem they do not understand or even see.”

Job seekers are far more likely to trust employees than employers. As if communicating respect wasn’t enough, this makes another argument for including staff in the DEI conversation.

• By listening to their suggestions and giving them a stake in your org’s DEI programs, you’ll be creating in-house advocates that have a sense of ownership and pride in the changes that are being made.

Then, you can involve them in the hiring process. That way, you’ll have ambassadors that job seekers — experienced industry veterans and those fresh out of colleges and universities — can trust. It’s a fantastic opportunity to both improve your employer brand, and to learn from your teammates.

Making DEI programs “business as usual” at your SMB

Practically everyone at your small business is laser-focused on improving your bottom line. As they should. Your company’s success has a trickle-down effect on your staff (i.e., earning bonuses, getting promotions and raises, upward mobility options). But, it can’t be the sole focus for your business.

Whether it’s initiatives around training, hiring, or communicating, the common thread that runs through sustainable DEI programs is communication, collaboration, and coordination.

• “Forward-looking small businesses recognize and understand the implications of demographic shifts and adapt their strategies, HR practices, and business operations to better meet the needs of current and future employees and clients,” DEI expert Glen Guyton recently wrote.

That means these forward-thinking SMBs on’t just act like a company that prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion. They actually do make DEI an intrinsic part of their company’s identity.

By doing so at your small business, you will not only see greater employee satisfaction and retention, but also a rise in more job seekers who want to work for your company and stay there long term.

• And with a small business applicant tracking system (ATS) in place for your HR team, you can tackle tasks associated with arguably the most important DEI program: hiring diverse talent.

“Many organizations want to improve their DEI efforts but lack the right tools to make a scalable impact,” HR expert Corey Berkey wrote for Spiceworks. “That’s where hiring technology comes in.”

Find out how investing in our advanced ATS can help your hiring team better identify, engage, and hire diverse talent. Schedule a demo of our leading recruiting software today for more info.