Aileen O’Hagan, Equate Scotland

The Equate Careerhub is Scotland’s first job board designed for employers to reach qualified women in science, technology and engineering. If you are looking to diversify your workforce the Equate Careerhub could help you reach 1000’s of qualified women across Scotland.

Equate Scotland is the national expert on gender equality in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths); we work with employers on diversity and inclusion by supporting the recruitment, retention and progression of women in these industries.

On average a woman’s STEM career lasts just 12 years. This is not that surprising when you know that 73% of women in the STEM sectors eventually leave. But science, technology and engineering are the jobs of the future with growing demand in data science, renewables and construction. Businesses therefore need to be able to access all of the available talent to sustain an economically healthy and prosperous future.

With access to Scotland’s largest network of women in STEM, the Equate Careerhub helps employers reach an audience who have been neglected in previous recruitment practices.

At Equate we know that words matter. And evidence suggests that the way a job description is written can influence whether potential candidates apply for the role or not. Employers can make their job descriptions more appealing to a female audience by using words that affiliate more closely with women and avoid using words that are traditionally used to describe men.

For example the phrase:

“We’re looking for someone to manage a team” Seems innocuous enough, right?

However, evidence shows that it is more likely to attract male applicants as the word ‘manage’ and ‘management’ are words commonly associated with men. Subtly changing the phrase to read:

‘We’re looking for someone to develop a team’, can encourage more female candidates to apply.

The function of the job doesn’t change, but the way an employer advertises the role can hugely influence who will apply.

Equate Careerhub offers employers advice on language through recruitment and reviews every job description before it is advertised on the hub. The Careerhub detects any gendered language or unconscious bias and provides advice on how to make the job description more appealing to a diverse audience.

Talat Yaqoob, Director of Equate Scotland said: “This is the first initiative of its kind in Scotland and I am delighted with the response we have had from employers across Scotland who are eager to be involved. Equate Scotland has Scotland’s largest network of women in STEM, reaching 1000’s of women. The Careerhub offers employers a fresh approach towards recruiting talent and presents an opportunity to tackle the skills shortage which is an economic and political priority.”

Visit the Equate Careerhub for advice on writing inclusive job descriptions and for information on how to advertise on the Careerhub.