Recruiting Women in Tech
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Learn as much as you can about barriers women in tech face in the workplace. Emphasize inclusion and company culture to successfully recruit women. Remember to emphasize talent brand and share positive stories about a career in technology.
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Recruiting Women in Tech
- 1. Recruiting Women Using Social Networks and Professional Organizations to Recruit Women in Business, Technology, and Engineering
- 2. It’s time to change recruiting practices • In the past, women had limited choices in the job market. • Recruiting promoted jobs not careers. • Choices were limited, but STEM programs have changed that outcome. • Seek out emerging technical talent in programs like STEM and build relationships. • Encourage current women employees to serve as role models and ambassadors. • Ask hiring managers and teams not only what they are looking for, but what they are missing on their teams.
- 3. Organizations and talent communities for women • When possible, establish corporate memberships with key organizations and start building relationships. • Participate in conferences or networking events targeted to women in technology. • Attract women professionals using a high level of interaction to build “talent communities.” Use tactics like virtual career events, online chat sessions, podcasts, and videos.
- 4. Sponsor conferences and network with associations • Successful diversity recruitment requires high touch points. • Make internal networks of technical women a cornerstone of diversity recruitment. • IBM estimated that close to 30% of their total professional women hires world-wide were made through internal networks. • Encourage stakeholders to maximize sponsorships and internship opportunities or sponsor scholarships.
- 5. Seek out job boards for women • Post on job boards that specifically target diverse populations. • Positions advertised on these sites will shape the group of candidates who self-select and express interest in positions. • Job descriptions send signals that influence both the recruit and the recruiter (terms like competitive or assertive signal men to apply). • Choose sites that are credible and have a positive reputation.
- 6. Engage with social networks to source • Strategically and selectively choose social networks women in technology are actively using. • Organizations always offer ways to connect socially on their websites. • Follow sites and contribute to conversations when it’s appropriate. • Remember, social identity and cultural background will impact conversations in social media — be genuine and authentic. • Communicate in a female-friendly way — leverage talent branding and the visible benefits of working for your company.
- 7. Promoting the talent brand of your company • Promote employer brand with your team, and your candidates — it’s critical to the success of your recruiting efforts. • Talent brand is based on the principle of personal plus corporate, not personal vs. corporate. • Think consistency, not conformity, and you’ll follow the path of other companies who have been successful with diversity hiring. • What you say about your company must be true — talk about things you’re proud of. • Emphasize that employee culture is a priority and a company-wide initiative.
- 8. Be the face of employer brand for your candidates • The Passion Projects is a GitHub recruiting strategy designed to show women they can have a great career in technology, and it’s a great place to work. 25% of the last 60 hires were women. • Etsy changed its interviewing process to be more female-friendly and increased the number of female engineers by 500%. Forbes, “New recruitment strategies at GitHub, Etsy attract female engineers”
- 9. Final tips for finding women in the talent pool • Change the tone of conversation to be inclusive. • Successful recruitment for women candidates requires a commitment. • Develop at least a 3-year diversity and engagement plan. • Reduce bias in job description language. • Make company culture the number one reason your candidates should choose your company over others.
- 10. Visit Diversity Job Boards and Organizations for Women in Tech Take advantage of these online communities and job boards that target women in technology. When possible, sign up for memberships to take advantage of conferences and networking events sponsored by these organizations: Witi – National Women in Technology http://www.witi.com/ Job board: http://www.witi4hire.com/ Society of Women Engineers http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/ FabFems http://www.fabfems.org/about National Conference for College Women Student Leaders http://www.nccwsl.org/2014/06/02/network-at-nccwsl/ American Society of University Women http://www.aauw.org/ Anita Borg Institute http://anitaborg.org/ (continued) Elevate (formerly 85 broads) https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/about Levo League http://www.levo.com/employers Women in Business Industry http://www.equalitymagazines.com/index.php/services/rates/j ob-postings#pricing Women Tech World http://www.womentechworld.org/links.htm#wtl National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science http://www.iwitts.org LatPro https://www.latpro.com/cms/recruiter?1414727545
- 11. Diversity Job Boards and Organizations for Women in Tech Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science http://sacnas.org/about National Society of Hispanic MBAs http://www.nektpro.com/ Society of Asian American Scientists and Engineers http://www.saseconnect.org/ Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology (CDM-IT) http://www.cmd-it.org Jobs for Mathematicians http://www.mathjobs.org National Society of Black Engineers http://www.nsbe.org/home.aspx Catalyst: Expanding Opportunities for Women in Business http://catalyst.org WomensJobList.com https://www.womensjoblist.com/account/login Association for Women in Mathematics https://sites.google.com/site/awmmath/home Advancingwomen.com http://www.advancingwomen.com Job Accommodation Network http://askjan.org/empl/index.htm Association for Women in Mathematics https://sites.google.com/site/awmmath/home National Society of Hispanic Engineers http://national.shpe.org/ American Indian Science and Engineering Society http://www.aises.org/news/woc Contact Amy Albright, Director of Recruiting Operations, North America Cognizant Technology Solutions For information about the 2015 Diversity Recruiting Strategy
- 12. Carolyn D. Munoz, MA Carolyn.Munoz@cognizant.com Social Media Strategist, North America Recruiting Let’s Connect: LinkedIn Twitter: @carolyndmunoz Cognizant Technology Solutions www.cognizant.com/careers Thank you
Editor's Notes
- These 1940s recruiting posters, show women in non-traditional jobs but they were jobs where the recruiting effort focused on a woman’s duty to work to support the war effort. The type of work a woman was able to do was limited. Government policy didn’t intend for it to last. In fact, a job manual for female war workers reminded women that — “The mother stands at the heart of family life. She is the one who will create the world after the war.” And, really nobody expected Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs for women to be the wave of the future. To fill the job pipeline this talent pool is now a national priority. They play a huge part in seeding US economic prosperity by encouraging diverse populations — like women — to choose STEM careers. Emerging talent in universities, internship programs and job training support each other – recruiters can be part of those communities and can build relationships with women in those groups. Every woman in your company is a role model and an ambassador for your recruiting pipeline. I’m convinced decision makers would benefit from having a female perspective in their workforce because it’s going to lead to more innovation with their teams.
- Organizations and talent communities for women are all over the internet. They’re an ideal way to start. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “leaky pipeline” to describe the funnel to women in tech, so although these organizations started cropping up several years ago to patch those connections. Their primary purpose is to help tech-savvy women reach their professional career goals. Women in Technology International isn’t just for women, it’s a global network of professional women AND MEN. Historically women have needed partnerships with men. It happened in 1920 or we’d never have won the right to vote. Women’s colleges started because men realized that women wanted formal education. But women felt shut out of high-level careers and started to build these communities to provide a platform for connections, resources and opportunities. As WITI puts it, “organizations want to reach decision makers, hire "star" employees and increase their bottom line by tapping into the power of WITI's products and services. Businesses benefit by recognizing that women's leadership skills and purchasing power are the greatest economic force at work in the American economy today.” These networks offer resources that take advantage of what technology has to offer by using this type of social platform. They use a lot of multimedia interaction with their members and are a treasure trove of connections for a recruiter.
- Women in tech fields expect a high level of interaction. They actively support recruiting initiatives and some have a job database that you can post jobs to for a small fee. They offer networking events meant to help you attract the passive candidates you can’t find through other sources. They’ll also work with you on creative ideas to help you get the hires you’re looking for. Internal communities are individuals who connect through a brand or a company. They’re tied into their companies as employees. They follow their companies on Facebook and LinkedIn. They have a vested interest in a company’s financial health, so they are actively involved. The society of Women Engineers is an external community. They connect people through a common interest, but not a single company. For example, a forum on this site is dedicated to empowering women in tech — it’s an external community. They have a strong presence in social media communities all over the internet. By connecting with members of these communities, you share ideas on a subject that they love, and they then they’ll associate your company with that information. The reason you’ll want to do this is to create trust because this activity has a potential for future recruitment. One important thing to remember is that when you can, you should sponsor or attend their networking events and conferences. Maybe there are internships or scholarships that can start you off as goodwill ambassadors.
- There are job boards set up to specifically target women. SACNAS (the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) claims they have over 2000 visitors per week for example. You can pay to advertise on their site, post jobs, become a member and give them feedback about their programs. They have a value for filling the pipeline with qualified candidates that are hard to reach minority groups. If you post on a site like Levo League, it’s important to remember it’s a social platform. They give career advice and skills tips, but more importantly it has a treasure trove of mentors. Founders of these sites always have their bios and contact information posted on a page and you usually can find them on other sites like LinkedIn. So, what are your job descriptions really asking for? Recruiters may use language like this to sell their jobs and make it interesting because you’re competing with other recruiters and you want to get the best applicants. Remember that calling words “masculine” or “feminine” just means we’re talking about historical associations, rather than saying that these things actually are masculine or feminine. The National Center for women in Information Technology suggests avoiding terms like “best of the best,” “off the charts,” “world-class,” or “unparalleled.” Research shows that these kinds of terms tend to prevent women (and some men) from applying. You can go to the National Center for women in Information Technology (NCWIT.org) and download their tips for job descriptions. The most important thing to remember is that all of these sites are considered social media promoting their own agenda, so be sure to read through their information before you commit and connect.
- As I said before, some sites may not be the right ones for what you’re looking for, or they may have some things that don’t align with the company’s culture. Some sites have a lot of activity, so check the number of members, if there’s a big cost to join, and review the information they post. Be yourself and get involved. This is a great way to get referrals for qualified women. You can connect through the social icons they always include on their sites in the header or footer, and you can click through to read any comments that might have red flags. If they have a good forum, join the conversation when you can, but make friends first. Understanding cultural differences in communication style, their attitudes and cultural values will predict success or failure. Some minority women who are trying to achieve have experienced social isolation in the past, and this is a safe way for them to connect. For example, Latinas innately establish personal connections sometimes having a close relationship with co-workers. That leads to a high degree of referrals from those candidates in the long-run. They value a collaborative, respectful workplace. Reinforcing a collaborative environment will go a long way not just with minority candidates, but with all women. Studies into why some girls didn’t want to go into computer fields found they were concerned about having to work all the time and not having enough personal time to be with their families. Whatever the pitch is to women, there are some subtle differences in language that will be important to remember. Emphasize your own personal experience when it’s appropriate and you feel comfortable doing that.
- Every company has a talent brand. What do candidates find when they Google the company? What are current and former employees buzzing about in chat rooms? Does what you say and the company messaging match what others say about Cognizant? Your talent brand is a highly social, totally public version of the employer brand. Cognizant employees talk about what they think, and feel. As talent of Cognizant, you can share things about the company as a place to work. Today’s best corporate career sites feature employees sharing what it’s like to work there. Review all materials a candidate can access from print, the website, social media, and events that are promoted with the Cognizant brand. Listen to your colleagues and candidates. Ask questions about what they’re looking for. Have some positive stories to tell about your own experiences, those stories are the building blocks of your brand. Put aside your own biases about certain things, and be genuine.
- This GitHub strategy started off as a way to show women how they can have great careers in tech, these women are great role models. Besides providing female role models, Passion Projects taps into another key motivator for female employees: Women look for jobs where they can find a deep sense of meaning from their professional work. So, they’re encouraged to work on projects they care about. The company sponsored about 30 different initiatives to support women in technology. The software developer in this particular video volunteers to work with girls to teach them about coding. The payback for the investment was that recruiters increased the number of female hires for GitHub. If you’d like to get a see the video, click on the image that links to YouTube for you to take a look. Etsy is a site that targets women and offers handmade products from women all over the world. But, their team of engineers was made up of about 90% men. The company realized they needed to change that. Their strategy was to be much more female friendly by sponsoring a Hacker School training program for junior employees and managed to increase their female engineers by 500%. They believe they connect better with their customers if there’s a more holistic demographic working on their team.
- Just some things to remember about recruiting women in tech. You really must emphasize inclusion. Company culture is so important to women in technology. I recently had a conversation with two women software engineers who work at Boeing. One woman is a mid-level career professional and the other is right out of grad school training on their systems. Both said their number one reason for choosing Boeing was the company culture. In fact, nobody recruited them, they approached Boeing and asked about openings. The commitment Boeing has shown to women software developers is that they understand the value for women of a great company culture. They both said it shows with every employee there. A commitment to who you represent has to be evident to women if you’re going to be successful. You should write down your strategy even if it’s just an outline. Start with your objectives. What do you want to achieve? Make them measurable. These efforts will take time, like taking time to join some of the organizations I mentioned, and going to networking or conference events. If you look at this as a short-term task that will have long-term effects, you’ll have great results. Start with girls who are already expressing an interest in technology. It may take 2 or 3 years before they’re ready, while other more seasoned professionals will be convinced to join your team based on the attention to show, and your networking skill. Talk to them the way you’d like to be talked to and make sure to really work on job description language to make them more gender friendly. There’s no other better testimonial than you. How you communicate, keep connected, and your involvement with organizations that support women in tech is the best talent brand you have.
- Join, be connected and learn as much as you can about the barriers women in tech face in the workplace. The more you know about the women you’re trying to recruit, the better prepared you’ll be to bring them in. These are just some of the sites that you can visit to learn more. Some require membership, some just post their conferences and networking events and you can register for them without a membership. Catalyst.org is a great site with lots of information and resources about women and I’ve included their website link in this list. You can sign-up at no cost for membership in catalyst.org. Catalyst empowers businesses to turn talent management challenges into competitive opportunities, using data-driven, scientific approaches to pinpoint and address the causes of talent management gaps. Also, I’d like to point out that Amy Albright, the director of recruiting operations in north America, is finishing up the 2015 Diversity Recruiting Strategy and that will be available soon. I’ve included her contact information along with mine if you have any questions. Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIN and if you have any questions I am happy to help get you started with a social media plan for recruiting women. Any questions?