Write inclusive, bias-free job descriptions by using welcoming language, focusing on essential skills, stating nondiscrimination and equity values, offering flexibility, removing ageist/ableist terms, highlighting diverse teams, inviting full selves, sharing pay info, ensuring access, and seeking feedback.
How Can Job Descriptions Address Intersectionality Across Race, Ability, Age, and LGBTQ+ Status?
AdminWrite inclusive, bias-free job descriptions by using welcoming language, focusing on essential skills, stating nondiscrimination and equity values, offering flexibility, removing ageist/ableist terms, highlighting diverse teams, inviting full selves, sharing pay info, ensuring access, and seeking feedback.
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Inclusive Job Descriptions
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Embed Inclusive Language and Avoid Bias
Job descriptions should use language that is welcoming to candidates from diverse racial backgrounds, abilities, age groups, and LGBTQ+ identities. Avoid terms that imply preferences for certain ages, gender pronouns, or physical abilities unless they are genuine job requirements. Emphasize the organization’s commitment to equity and inclusion explicitly.
Focus on Essential Skills Not Credentials
Rather than listing rigid qualification requirements, highlight the core skills and experiences truly necessary for success in the role. This approach prevents inadvertently screening out talented candidates who may face systemic barriers related to race, disability, age, or LGBTQ+ status.
Clearly State Nondiscrimination and Belonging Policies
Include a strong nondiscrimination statement covering race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, and other intersections. Go a step further by mentioning diversity, equity, and belonging as organizational values and priorities.
Offer Flexibility and Accommodations
Acknowledge and offer reasonable accommodations, flexible work options, or adaptive technology in the job ad. Explicitly welcoming applicants who need accommodations signals openness to people with disabilities, caregivers, older workers, and others.
Remove Ageist or Ableist Language
Steer clear of words that may discourage older applicants (like “digital native” or “recent graduate”) or those that assume physical abilities (“must be able to lift 50 lbs” unless essential). Instead, describe capabilities in functional terms.
Represent Diverse Role Models in Descriptions
Highlight the presence of diverse teams and leadership, using inclusive imagery and stories when describing the workplace. Candidates from minoritized groups (by race, ability, age, LGBTQ+ status) are reassured by explicit mention of representation and support structures.
Invite Candidates to Bring Their Whole Selves
Encourage candidates to share relevant lived experiences, cultural backgrounds, and perspectives that may enrich the team—even if these aren’t traditional qualifications. This validates intersectionality as an asset rather than a barrier.
Provide Pay Transparency and Advancement Opportunities
List salary ranges and explain promotion practices. Transparency especially helps marginalized groups, who are statistically more likely to face pay gaps and advancement barriers due to intersecting biases.
Outline the Application Process Inclusively
Describe clear, accessible application processes and provide points of contact for questions. Note available formats for applications (large print, multiple languages) and accessible interviews (sign language, remote options), supporting intersectional applicants.
Use Feedback to Continuously Improve Descriptions
Regularly review and revise job descriptions based on feedback from employees of diverse backgrounds and external candidates. This creates a feedback loop, helping identify and correct inclusivity gaps across race, ability, age, and LGBTQ+ status.
What else to take into account
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