When I made my first placement back in 2005, it was a Quantity Surveyor Manager who was a male. Of course it was!. It was the construction sector, largely dominated still to this day by males. My second placement however followed a few weeks later who was a woman. She was an Electrical Engineer job into a mid-sized M&E Contractor in Dublin. This was my first Diversity and Inclusion assistance to a business which at the time was a male dominated sector. Diversity and Inclusion was a focus for the manager at the time who mentioned that he would love to see more diversity in his site teams. So, Diversity and Inclusion has always been close to me since starting on my Recruitment journey. It was the first time I encountered the term.

In 2005 with that forward thinking Mechanical and Electrical Leader was my first campaign to bring more females into the M&E sector in Ireland. With mixed results, a lot of those strategy’s improved over time and as people caught on to the terms and made the wider subject more wide spread. Countless campaigns in schools, colleges would follow over the next 15-20 years with an attempt to bring a more diverse workforce to typically male dominated sectors such as the IT and Construction sectors.

As a Recruiter filling IT jobs for example in 2022 is a lot different and continues to evolve as me move forward. It’s proven in study after study that a diverse team brings more innovation and stability making people happier in their jobs.

At Elwood Roberts our key goal is to bring the best possible talent to the businesses that need them.

Here are 5 tips to hiring a diverse work place.

  1. Using inclusive language

Using inclusive language in our job descriptions is important. If you want to attract more women to IT jobs in Ireland or USA or anywhere into your organisation, you need to avoid using words like dominant and challenging or specific pronouns can discourage women there proven to be masculine. Inclusive language should be incorporated into all communication within the business, not just job descriptions.

  1. Challenging unconscious biases

Being aware of unconscious biases is excellent as when you implement certain strategies within your company you will understand that you will still see things in a certain way. Challenging them by putting into place effective strategies within your organisation can help you in removing the unconscious bias you may be reflecting into the business. The strategies to improve diversity and inclusion can be measured so you are aware of how your company is changing. If you are worried about unconscious biases, here are some typical ways to overcome them, click here

  1. Educating

There are a few reasons as to why it is beneficial to educate leadership and management and have them attending diversity and inclusion workshops. To start, it is seen as one of the least diverse areas of a company and is mainly dominated by white males, albeit this is changing slowly sectors such as the IT and Construction sectors most of the top jobs are still male. Secondly, leaders play a big role in shaping company values and moving forward with strategies for the organisation to implement. Diversity and inclusion goals should be set from the top down then it is likely that they can be implemented company-wide.

  1. Talent Training

Trying to bring in a more diverse workforce is more then balancing the female to male ratios, its also about bring in different cultures, for example hiring people from within the Black, Indian, LBGTQ and Asian communities. They will bring different thinking, different attitudes that can be considered a cultural add. When talent mapping start to look at what that cultural thinking can offer the business. Some adjustments to the job requirements might be required, so I would always ask what are the critical skills needed and what can be trained. Then make some sacrifices to the people and build in really robust training programs to help grow your talent pool.

  1. External Talent Mapping

Mapping talent is a difficult skill. Its important that Recruiters attract the best talent for the open IT jobs they are looking to fill.  In order to attract those diverse candidates its important to map the markets. Firstly, it’s a continuous process, there are little quick hires and job fills with talent mapping. It’s a strategy that you know your market, where the pockets of talent are and about consistent engagement.

For example, if you get chatting to a Java Developer who is a female, let’s say she went to college in UCD and there were 5 females in her class. She might still be in touch with them and might make an introduction for you. Use that as a domino effect. Once you know where the talent is then you can keep in touch. When the time is right for them to leave, you might just be the first call. This is only example, but can be effective over the long term.

There are areas that businesses need to focus on, for example, creating an environment that is suited to everyone. Leadership must be committed to ensuring the working environment is inclusive to everyone who takes a job in their Business. Communicating new diversity and inclusion policies and providing training will ensure that the business will be suited to everyone. Workplace diversity is unavoidable.  Certainly in the IT sector, therefore it is essential that the business brings inclusiveness when creating an equal working environment.

It’s important to listening to employees is one of the main things managers will need to do in the business. Although implementing diversity and inclusion strategies has never been easier. It is the employees who will benefit or suffer from those decisions. Keep talking, do surveys, bring people together.

Elwood Roberts will always work to brining the best possible talent to the business. If you are interested in knowing more about Elwood Roberts services, click here. If you are hiring and wondering how to hire the best talent. Please do get in touch.

This blog might also assist. We are experts within the Recruitment sector and we don’t charge the earth.