A recruitment firm has partnered with a UK tech business to remove gender bias from its job adverts.
Guidant Global is collaborating with Get-Optimal to “license its Job Ad optimisation technology to ensure end-client’s job adverts are optimised for Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion as and when needed.”
Get-Optimal’s technology uses AI and machine learning to “optimise adverts for diversity, inclusion, and SEO.” According to a shared statement, Guidant Global will use the technology to “increase and build on the in-house expertise in diversity recruitment.”
Guidant Global’s Global Marketing Director Alexa Bradbury said: “Improving DE&I is at the top of the corporate agenda for so many organisations right now, and Get-Optimal is a fantastic example of innovative recruitment tech that is helping to make the world of work fairer and more inclusive. We’re excited to take the solution to our clients and to open the door to more talented people from all backgrounds.
“We’re passionate about instigating change within our industry and helping our clients lead the way within theirs by having an open and flexible approach to recruiting from a wide and inclusive talent pool.
“By collaborating with our clients, suppliers and industry partners, we’re opening doors for people who the recruitment sector has historically overlooked. We’re experts in delivering diversity and inclusion initiatives across many disadvantaged groups and have actively taken the lead within the recruitment industry when it comes to disability inclusion.”
Get-Optimal Founder and CEO Daniel Fellows added: “We’re thrilled to work with one of the leading workforce solutions providers in the UK and a team universally respected and renowned for their innovative, creative and technology-led approach to talent management. Their passion and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility is leading the UK staffing solutions industry right now, and they will be a perfect partner as we roll out our SaaS product across the UK and North America.”
Removing gender bias manually
Even if you don’t have the technology to remove bias from your job adverts yet, you can still manually try to reduce the instances of unconscious bias in your job postings, here are a few ways.
Here’s what employers can learn about unplugging bias from their job adverts:
- Be aware that the language used could be conforming to gender stereotypes and alienating groups
- Balance the use of male and female-coded words such as ‘analyse’ or ‘independent’ (male) and ‘considerate’ or ‘dependable’ (female) when describing desired attributes
- Don’t overuse male-related words at the expense of female (or vice-versa) as this may unintentionally favour one group over another and stall diverse and inclusive recruitment
- Many sciences, marketing, and sales postings can be male-biased while female-biased adverts can be associated with social care, housekeeping, and administration roles
- Ensure senior job postings are decoded of stereotypically ‘male words’ like “competitive” or “confident”
- Avoid using “feminine” coded words such as “supportive” or “responsible” to describe supporting roles
- Gender-neutral job adverts can receive up to 42% more applications than biased ones, which means employers can widen and diversify their talent pipeline while finding the most talented candidates
