Five Ways to Be More Inclusive and Reach New Talent
Over the past decade, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams have consistently outperformed their peers.*
In 2023, these companies had a 39% greater likelihood of financial outperformance compared to those in the bottom quartile—a significant increase from 15% in 2015.*
As Professor Geeta Nargund, Chair at The Pipeline, puts it "Organisations which are performing the best in terms of gender parity are 22% more likely to have improved profits ... and so fair representation is not just a 'nice to have' or a tick-box exercise – it is a business imperative."
It literally pays to do the work on this, so how can you take steps towards building a workforce that more closely reflects today’s society and brings all the advantages of doing so to your business?
For National Inclusion Week 2025 (15-21 September) we outlined five key actions that don’t need to cost you a penny and can really help to make a difference.
1. Advertise Your Vacancies Externally
As tempting as it might be to ‘ask around’ or employ a mate of a mate who’s looking for a job, by advertising your roles formally and externally you are reaching new pools of talent.
Review where you advertise, too - are there other platforms, groups or people who are from an underrepresented group who could help spread the word in new circles?
There are ways to do this that don’t come with a fee attached.
2. Open Doors Wider in Your Job Adverts
Consider stating something like this on your ads:
“Don't feel you meet all the criteria? We welcome you to apply even if your experience doesn't match exactly. With your transferable skills, you could be the right person for this or other opportunities that we have.”
It presents you as a positive and inclusive employer, and everyone who’s faced barriers and discrimination will find this approach refreshing and are more likely to apply. They could be just perfect.
3. Make Sure Application Methods are Accessible
We’d strongly advise against offering up a one-size-fits-all application form. As an example, Word documents with pre-set tables can be an absolute nightmare and can put people off - often just because they feel silly that they can’t make it work.
Allowing for the fact we all use different devices, browsers, programmes, and have varying levels of experience in this area, asking for a CV plus short written statement and letting them choose the tech is better practice. Providing a maximum word count for the main statement is important guidance to set expectations for the applicant - and don’t ask people to write an essay.
4. Anonymise Applications as Much as Possible
We all hold some degree of unconscious bias.
With this in mind, ask someone removed from the recruitment process and role to collate and anonymise applications received. This should include removing any names, photos, or use of she/ he if written in third party. It’s good practice to remove any date of birth info too.
You can also ask people not to use these things in their application to speed up the screening work.
5. Diversify Representation Within Your Marketing
Do some work on making sure your company doesn’t give off a purely cis white able-bodied male image, so you catch the eye of people who don’t look like that to start with. You have to see it to be it, and representation is powerful for catching the eye of new, diverse talent.
Review the photos you post on social media. You can use stock images in the short-term, but make a plan to get some authentic images of people in your spaces that more closely mirror modern society.
*Source: McKinsey & Company’s 2023 Diversity Matters Even More report