As you’re probably aware, we’re all about promoting diversity in tech, leadership, and entrepreneurship and that’s why we’re super excited about the launch of our brand new WomenTech Network Job Board.
Who is it for?
Candidates
If you are a highly-skilled woman in tech, our Job Board is for you. You can find opportunities from top companies looking to practice diverse hiring.
At https://www.womentech.net/jobs, you can browse current openings based on location, job type, and skills sought.
You can also create an account with the WomenTech Network and add your very own Career Profile to explore anonymously current and future job opportunities with leading companies. Companies will be able to connect with you only based on the skills you have.
Companies
We have developed a number of opportunities for companies to find top talent through our Job Board.
Our Company Packages give you the opportunity to post from 1 to 10 Job Postings. Each package offers you more perks and exposure to our active community of women in technology.
All of our packages also offer you access to our Video Library of keynotes, talks, and training sessions.
We also have a special opportunity for companies looking to become our Global Network Partner. Such partnership offers employer branding & recognition, thought leadership & developer relations, access to database of opt-in candidates, exclusive info session to present your company, plus job postings on the Job Board.
Because our Job Board is industry-specific and our services are targeted to highly skilled women in tech, posting your open positions with us is a quick and easy way for your company to hire top talent based on merit and thus improve your company’s diversity hiring at the same time.
What is diversity hiring?
Diversity hiring is about sourcing, screening, and shortlisting candidates based on merit and merit alone. It is a hiring process that aims to be free from positive or negative biases which may be turning away or discriminating against qualified candidates.
Diversity hiring aims to remove any biases surrounding race, age, gender, sexual orientation or any other personal attribute or characteristic which has no bearing on a person’s ability to perform the job in question.
Why is diversity important?
If we look at the United States, the 2018 report by Atlassian on “State of Diversity and Inclusion in U.S. Tech” shows that the tech industry is still predominantly white and male.
The same is true when we look at the European tech market. A study conducted by Atomico, entitled “The State Of D&I In European Tech” which polled over 1,200 European tech founders, found that 84% of participants identified as White/Caucasian and in 2019, $92 in every $100 invested in Europe went to all-male founding teams.
Yet, at the same time, a study by McKinsey on Why Diversity Matters clearly shows that diverse companies perform better, with the most gender-diverse companies performing 15% better financially and the most ethnically-diverse companies performing 35% better.
This is further supported by a study by Credit Suisse, which showed companies with more women on their boards received a 4% better ROI.
And the benefits aren’t all financial…
By showing that you are committed to diversity, you show that you’re more committed to your staff and this can improve employee engagement, which leads to a happier and more satisfied workforce, which then leads to improved retention.
Want to go even further?
Greater diversity means bringing people together from different backgrounds, walks of life, and ways of thinking. You aren’t stuck in a room of 10, 20, 30 people who have all walked the same path and are approaching things in the exact same way. A more diverse team means more creative thinking and problem solving, which is exactly what an innovative tech company needs!
And to top it all off...
Diverse teams allow you to better serve your customers. Unless you are really hitting into a super small niche, your client and customer base is likely to come from all over the world. The more diverse your tech team, the more your solutions, and products will fit their needs.
How can you improve your hiring processes for greater diversity?
Of course, posting on a diversity hiring job board is a great start (hint hint!) but if you really want to commit to diversity hiring, and we think you should for all of the above reasons, then it will take a little more work and dedication.
To help get you started on the right path, we’ve included our top 3 top tips for interviewing for diversity.
1. Be transparent
Every company interviews differently which can send your candidates into a bit of a panic. How can they be prepared if they don’t know what to prepare for? A common question in tech forums is usually along the lines of “I’m interviewing for this company. Can someone tell me their interview process?”
If your candidate is coming from an underrepresented community, they might not have anyone in their network who can answer that question, and therefore, they are instantly at a disadvantage.
Being upfront and transparent about how you interview, evaluate, or test candidates will allow everyone to prepare to the best of their ability.
2. Hire for similar values, not similar ways of thinking
Before you even get to the interview stage, get clear on your company’s core values-- what are your company’s mission, beliefs, and guiding principles? If you don’t already have them in writing, the process of doing so will help you ask the right questions at the interview stage to show whether the candidate’s own values are in alignment.
But remember, you want your candidate to be similar in values and purpose but different when it comes to the thought process, problem-solving and how they approach tasks or challenges. 
3. Keep pre-interview tasks short
Take-home tests can be a bit of a grey area. Some candidates may see it as asking them to do significant amounts of high-quality work for free. While others prefer them to on-site and on-the-day tasks as there is less pressure and they can complete them in their own time.
If you do opt for a do-at-home selection task, make sure you keep it short. Keep in mind that people have lives outside of work and job hunting! They may have families, small children, and babies to feed and if your task takes half a day to complete then you are pretty much ruling out working mothers.
Diversity for the win!
Diversity hiring boards are a great way to give every candidate the same starting block and a level playing field to showcase their tech talents. The more diverse a team you can hire, the stronger they will be and the better your results.
