We've heard in the previous sessions
how women are underrepresented in many industries
and leadership positions.
We discussed contributing factors like
gender norms in society
the legacy of traditions
or structural issues like the availability of child care.
In this video
we will focus on obstacles inside companies
that women and men face in a hiring process
and identify key measures
to ensure equal opportunities
for women and men.
Obstacles inside companies are often linked to
business policies and recruitment practices
where bias against certain candidates can occur.
So, what are biases?
A bias is a prejudice, stereotype for or against a person
or a group of people which can lead to discrimination
for example, based on
It's important to acknowledge that
all of us have biases.
They are part of our unconscious decision making process
that has served us for thousands of years
in making snap judgments.
The trouble is
in the modern workplace, when left unchecked,
they lead us to stereotyping and discriminatory decision making.
Biases can occur anywhere in the hiring process.
We often think about it only in relation to the interview
but bias often occurs
already in the way
we forecast our HR needs
or how we formulate job descriptions.
So, what can we do to promote inclusive hiring in the workplace?
Hi, my name is Laila.
I'm the HR director for talent of inclusion for BAT Vietnam.
Today, I'm here to talk to you about
how we can promote inclusive hiring practices in your workplace.
So, we have 5 steps in this strategy.
The first step or strategy that we have
is to educate your team.
We want to educate the team in terms of inclusive hiring
and such issues related to it.
Start by training your recruiters and line managers
about the 13 common hiring biases
looking into job description
and skill identification planning as well
and lastly
how to make sure that
you're asking your candidates the right questions.
To aid that
one of the steps you can take is
you can generate a standardized interview questionnaire
that is aligned with your business agenda and company ethos.
This will make sure that
your line manager and recruiter have
the right tools to use in this whole process.
At BAT, anybody who is involved in the hiring process
is required to undergo trainings.
We call it "license to hire".
Our second strategy involves
widening your search for the candidates.
Let's start with how you write a job description.
A simple way to attract more diverse candidates
is to take another look at your requirements.
Studies show that
men would apply for a job if they feel that
they meet 60% of the requirements.
However
women will only do so if they feel that they are 100% a match.
So, what are the things that you can do
to re-look at how you write your requirements?
Do you really need all of those requirements
to be able to do the job?
Is that 5-year experience really necessary
or maybe you're looking for someone with 2 or 3
that can be a perfect match?
So, ask yourself
What is a real must-have for the candidate
and what are the nice-to-haves?
And only include the must-haves
in terms of years or requirements
qualification on your job requirements.
The more of those requirements that you add in the recruitment process
the more hesitant candidates will apply
who might just turn out to be the perfect match for you.
A clear and gender inclusive language used in job description
has to be written in an inclusive and neutral language.
So, make sure that we avoid the common mistakes
when we write job descriptions.
The same goes for job ads.
Take a review of your current job ads.
Are the job description and tasks
written in neutral and gender inclusive tone?
Do you feel it encourages applicants
to apply from all different backgrounds
or you should really look into avoiding indications about personal characteristics as well.
Also, ask yourself
Who will see it?
Is it attractive enough for everyone?
And what else can you do about it?
Widening your search also means varying your sourcing channels
I'm talking about looking at a more diverse pool of candidates
like people with disabilities
or those from ethnic backgrounds.
It can also be as simple as
going to a different campus on your next recruitment activation.
Are you most likely going to the same school year after year?
Maybe next time you should explore another school
and meet new students.
Referrals are also another option when it comes to sourcing.
Yet, you should be very careful with potential biases coming from them.
You can also build a more diverse recruitment panel.
Members may vary in gender, age, background and experiences.
Make sure you have goals and responsibility within that panel
and that hiring decisions are made in group
instead of individuals.
During the interview
it's important that exclusiveness is maintained
throughout the entire conversation.
You should not make assumptions
but focus on skills and competencies instead.
Ask all candidates the same questions
and include the gender diverse panels that you have recently built.
Fourthly, technology is a brilliant tool to help you.
You can pave way to new forms of hiring
like blind recruitment
where an AI can scan an application
and automatically remove demographics like
gender, age and photos
that can usually stem out biases.
Another platform that - actually this is something we use at BAT -
is Textio.
It's an online platform
that automatically reviews your job description
and it helps you make sure
that your wording in the job description
will appeal equally to
men, women and non-binary persons.
Our 5th strategy involves setting diversity targets.
Make sure your recruitment process is aimed to reach diversity goals.
A few examples that you can use
is having 50-50 gender balance
first round's shortlist as a target.
Another one that works is
to set at least 2 diverse candidates in the final round.
Not only that
you should be public about your company's diversity goals.
A good number of companies
recently announced their target for future recruitment
which can act as a motivation
to achieve inclusive hiring.
You can start with a goal of 50% female representation in management
and 40% female representation in senior leadership.
Lastly
one more crucial tip that I can give you
is to make diversity and inclusion a goal beyond recruitment.
Make it part of your brand as an employer.
Here at BAT
we integrate gender equality mindset into our everyday work activities
not only in hiring
but in all aspects of our people, policies and processes.
We also make it very casual
like as easy as sending a video about gender equal workplace
so that everybody can have a quick watch.
Thanks to the efforts of inclusive hiring
BAT Vietnam increased the percentage of women in management positions to 43%
with a goal to achieve 50% female representation in management by 2025.
So, it is safe to say
inclusive hiring is the future of recruitment.
What about you?
Have you tried it in your workplace?