Balance

Standing next to my advert at

It was a beautiful Autumnal Sunday, and it was also Equal Pay Day 2022.

Yesterday marked the day when women effectively, on average, stopped earning relative to men because of the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap has barely shifted in the past few years and is being compounded by

👉 the cost of living crisis
👉 lack of flexible working
👉 unaffordable childcare
👉 the mandatory threshold for gender pay gap reporting was raised from 250 to 500 employees, holding many fewer employers accountable

So how does this relate to inclusive recruitment, I hear you ask? 🤔

👉 Pay inequality starts with hiring practices

Here are a few suggestions for promoting a fair salary outcome for every hire.

👉 Start with a salary band and advertise transparently on all your job posts.

👉 Don't ask for or use a candidate's current salary as the basis for their offer.

👉 Do some internal benchmarking before finalising the offer.

👉 Advocate for anyone who pitches themselves too low. Statistically, this is more likely to be a woman.

👉 Let’s talk about Interview Panels and their ability to perpetuate or disrupt bias and Group Think during the recruitment process 👈

👉 Interview panels can be a great way to bring together diverse perspectives and assessment styles to achieve a fair outcome.

👉 Conversely, they can be a breeding ground for Group Think and Conformity Bias if your panel is too homogenous.

Here are a few thoughts on how to get inclusive interview panels right.

✅ Think beyond optics when putting together your interview panel; bringing together interviewers from different departments, seniority levels, and crafts can also be effective.

✅ Ensure the panel has an assessment framework (i.e. a set of attributes they are looking for in the candidate) and is fully briefed on the role.

✅ Give them a way to submit their feedback independently without discussion among the interviewers to avoid conformity bias.

✅ Avoid free-form feedback; give your interviewers a template or scorecard. This will keep their feedback relevant and prevent them from drifting into ‘Gut Feel’ statements.

✅ Big Caveat to interview panels - be sure always to offer an alternative as Neurodivergent candidates may be placed at a disadvantage having to read the social cues of three to four interviewers simultaneously. Offer the option to meet them separately.

Do you use interview panels in your hiring process? If so what do you do to disrupt biased outcomes?

👉 Imagine if every recruiter in the UK put this in their email signature.

There are estimated to be 40,000 UK recruitment firms and over 100,000+ UK recruitment professionals.

37% of candidates wouldn’t ask for adjustments or support during the recruitment process for fear of discrimination.

One simple change could make all the difference.

✅ Recruiters - add this statement to your email.

✅ If you require any adjustments or additional support during the recruitment process for any reason whatsoever, please let me know.