Building a Diverse Workforce

Hiring is broken—and women know it. Talented women are rejected because of: ❌ Career gaps (raising kids, caregiving, life happening) ❌ No “required” degree (as if that guarantees competence) ❌ A non-traditional path (not everyone gets a “perfect” career trajectory) Yet, companies still complain about a “talent shortage.” The talent is there. You’re just filtering it out. Want to fix hiring? Start here: ✅ Drop unnecessary degree requirements. ↳ If it’s not legally required (doctor, lawyer, etc.), hire for ability—not credentials. ✅ Test skills, not resumes. ↳ Resumes tell a story, but work samples, case studies, and real-world challenges show what candidates can do. ✅ Rewrite job descriptions. ↳ Instead of “5+ years in X,” say “Proven ability to do Y.” Experience only matters if it builds the right skills. The companies that get this? They win. Because skills-based hiring doesn’t just level the playing field—it unlocks an entire talent pool. So this International Women’s Day, let's skip the feel-good messages. Change the way you hire. Because talent isn’t found on a piece of paper—it’s in the skills people bring. #IWD2025 #SkillsBasedHiring #AccelerateAction #HireBetter --- ♻️ Repost if you agree: Stop filtering out skilled women. ➕ And follow me (Shulin Lee) for more. P.S. Tag a hiring manager, HR leader or C-suite exec who needs to see this.

Innovation knows no gender. Reflecting on my journey as an engineer over the past 25 years, from stepping into the workforce to witnessing the remarkable strides women have made today, I am struck by both the progress achieved and the many challenges that persist. When I started my career in the late 90s, women engineers were a handful and today, I'm heartened to see more women not only entering the field but also pioneering innovations and driving meaningful change. ➡️ However, looking at the numbers, in 2023, men outnumbered women in global engineering by 86.3% to 13.7%. And despite the demand for tech skills, women constitute only 28% of engineering graduates globally. In STEM fields, they make up 33% of researchers but hold just 12% of national science academy memberships. ➡️The leaky STEM pipeline begins early and persists over time. It is not just enough to keep feeding the pipeline by increasing the number of female students. It is imperative to work towards breaking gender stereotypes through early investment in reskilling and the promotion of STEM education. Apart from making STEM education more fun and engaging, introduction to female role models and mentors can help change stereotypical perceptions related to these subjects and inspire more girls to choose and work in the area. ➡️I see technology as an enabler here. Achieving equal representation of women in the tech industry requires a collaborative effort from organisations, academia, and government bodies. At the organisational level, tech firms should focus on creating supportive structures that not only attract but also retain and nurture female professionals. Flexible working policies, improved leave and well-being benefits, and support networks serve as key factors in promoting women in the workplace. Investing in training and mentorship programs is essential to equip high-potential women technologists with the necessary skills for leadership roles. Initiatives like involving female employees in the recruitment process, hosting career fairs, and offering internship programs can help organisations move towards a more gender-balanced workforce. The future of engineering is bright, and women are an integral part of that future. By continuing to support and celebrate women in engineering, we are investing in a world where innovation knows no gender, and where the contributions of all are valued and recognized. #InternationalWomenInEngineeringDay 🎉✨

Marginalised individuals are not a problem to be solved. I'm noticing a disturbing trend in workplace training programs focused on "building resilience," "speaking up," and "asserting yourself." This kind of training places the burden on individuals to adapt to an environment that wasn’t designed for them. Training women to "present with power," or asking individuals from diverse backgrounds to conform to a dominant culture, misses the issue. The focus should be on the systems, processes, and cultures that perpetuate these imbalances. Instead of focusing on what individuals should do to fit in, organisations should hold a mirror to their own structures and ask: Are we creating an environment where all team members, regardless of their background, can thrive? Are our leaders equipped to respect and acknowledge the diverse lived experiences of their teams? Failure to address these systemic issues will inevitably lead to high turnover, disengagement, and, worse, the potential for real harm to individuals. Let’s shift the focus from fixing people to fixing the systems that hold them back.

Please stop telling your recruitment partners that "it'd be great if you could find a woman for the team". ❌ Instead, start doing the following... ✅ Evaluate your sales culture. If it's feels like a "boys club", it is. Fix it. ✅ Analyse the language you are using. Gendered wording of job advertisements signals who belongs and who does not. "Masculine- worded ads reduced perceived belongingness [among women], which in turn lead to less job appeal, regardless of one’s perception of their personal skill to perform that job." - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, January 2011 - (🔗 Link in comments.) ✅ Provide workplace flexibility A 2023 study conducted by the University of Oxford’s Well-being Research Centre found that when it comes to fostering a positive working environment, reducing stress, and boosting employee resilience, flexibility is one of the most effective elements required to create a healthy work-life balance. The findings correlate with a separate study which found that post-pandemic, 72% of women are prioritising purpose and balance at work, and are looking for the flexibility that facilitates this. (🔗 Link in comments.) ✅ Build an infrastructure and culture of coaching and support. The opportunity to be coached by other women (both internal and external) goes a long way in not only developing existing staff members, but also in attracting new talent. (Bonus point: ensure your interview processes are as gender diverse as possible. You can't be what you can't see.) ✅ Implement gender-neutral and diversity-inclusive policies. Offer gender-neutral parental leave policies to prevent issues like absence visibility, project loss, and early return pressure. In my experience, the Nordics lead the way in gender-equitable parental leave policies, for example. ✅ Address any existing gender pay gaps. It's 2024... This shouldn't even have to be a point. I'm a recruitment & search professional. I'm not a DE&I specialist. But I really hope one day the conversation changes from "it'd be great if you could find us a woman" to "we have awesome diversity in our team because...". Women in sales & those of you in gender diverse businesses - what else would you add? LP ✌️ Pack GTM | SaaS Sales Recruitment in Germany #sales #hiring #careers #startups #recruitment 

Did you know that in the UK, women are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed after a heart attack? This is not because women’s symptoms are “atypical”, they are typical for women, but because medical research and training have historically centred on male bodies. The “Reference Man” has been the standard for everything from drug dosages to car crash test dummies, with devastating results: women are 17% more likely to die in a car crash, and 47% more likely to be seriously injured, simply because safety systems were not designed with them in mind. Caroline Criado Perez outlines this concept of 'male as default' in her book, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. Even today, the vast majority of pain studies are conducted on male mice, and drugs are often not tested on women at different stages of their menstrual cycle. The result? Women experience more adverse drug reactions, and sometimes, the drugs simply don’t work for them. This isn’t just a healthcare issue, it’s a design issue. When we build systems, products, or workplaces around a single “default” user, we inevitably exclude others. The cost is not just inconvenience, but real harm. In the case of organisations outside of healthcare, these same default user error easily occurs. And this is causing real harm to individuals, teams, companies and has real knock-on effects in society. So what can we do? We must design workplace systems, policies, and cultures that recognise and accommodate difference. We must examine inherent bias that exists in our people processes - right from designing a role, through to the language used in job descriptions and the expectations around what a job 'should' look like. There are so many aspects to eliminating bias in the workplace and this is just one of the starting points for organisations. At Shape Talent Ltd, we've developed a Debias Audit, designed to identify barriers and gender biases in organisations, many of which can be subtle and unintentional. People processes, policies and systems may have been passed down for years without anyone looking critically at them and asking whether they are gender inclusive in their ability to attract, retain, promote and reward talent. Organisations may not be aware of the simple, subtle and often quick changes they can make to their HR policies and practices that positively influence gender equality in the workforce. If this might be a helpful tool, get in touch to discuss how we can customise it for your organisation. #GenderEquity #EDI #DebiasAudit #DEI #PeopleAndCulture #HRLeadership #HRToolkit

This is the harsh reality for many Women of Colour in the workplace. Too often, they are celebrated on entry, only to be pushed out when they speak up. Tokenised during the "honeymoon" and then punished for calling out harmful behaviours. When organisations refuse to address racism and structural inequality, they force the burden of change onto those most impacted, only to label them as “difficult” or “not a good fit.” To build truly inclusive workplaces, we must do more than diversify - we must understand how intersections of race, gender, and power shape people’s experiences. Image: Courtesy of ENAR #Intersectionality #Race #Gender

If you're losing brilliant women at the final stages of hiring - this might be why... Let me talk you through a recent example where a company had a disproportionately high number of women dropping out at late interview and offer stage for their tech roles: They were offering great salaries. Flexible working. A decent benefits package. So what was going wrong? We took a look at the data. Out of 2 billion data points, a few things stood out: → Diversity is non-negotiable. Women in tech rank it 31% higher than the average candidate. If they don’t see representation in leadership, they won’t apply → Flexible hybrid work wins, because structure matters. Demand for remote-only roles is 11% below average, while core hours and in-office collaboration rank higher → Family-friendly policies trump flashy perks. Fertility leave (+41%), job sharing (+33%), and parental leave (+19%) are the real differentiators But then we dug deeper; and that's where it got really interesting: → Women in data roles showed a higher demand for in-office work - mentorship and access to resources mattered → Women in engineering & development wanted mission-driven work and career progression above all else → Women in product roles prioritised culture and flexibility more than any other group The company checked their employer brand. Their careers page talked about “great culture” and “exciting opportunities.” But it said nothing about what actually mattered to the people they were trying to hire. They weren’t losing candidates because of the salary or the benefits. They were losing them because they don't know what their target talent groups actually want. The companies getting this right aren’t guessing. They’re using data to shape their employer brand - so they attract the right people, with the right message. Download our women in tech report to access more of these insights: https://lnkd.in/enYcGpeW And tell me if you've turned down a job offer for similar reasons? #WomenInTech #Hiring #EmployerBranding #FutureOfWork #DiversityMatters

Shedding old beliefs: blending feminine and masculine for harmony ✨ This summer, I had the good fortune to read the book "Alfas y Omegas" by my extraordinary former colleague Mercè Brey, and by Victoria Y. 📖❤️ Among many of the ideas it expresses, two concepts especially caught my attention as a man, professional, and father of Valentina and Luca. 🚧 The first is how important it is to overcome stereotypical behaviors and beliefs, specifically the traditional definition of masculinity. "Demasculinizing" the world has positive consequences for everyone, including men. For example, being able to live an emotionally peaceful and sustainable life or to experience fatherhood in a heartfelt, authentic, and profound way. 🌟 One of the keys to accelerating change is for well-known and recognized males who act as role models to other men. He cites the example of Justin Baldoni, a Hollywood actor whose Ted Talk titled "Why I'm Not Trying to Be Man Enough Anymore" has over eight million plays. Justin's father passed on to him traditionally masculine skills while teaching him how to live his more emotional side. This "balancing" between feminine and masculine values or traits is the second concept I loved. Mercé gives an example adapted to the business world, where she indicates that "in every business process there must be a continuous flow, an ongoing balance between the masculine and the feminine. ⚖️ From the creation of a company to its expansion and growth, she identifies eleven situations. ➡️ Ideation and creativity. More feminine to let our imagination run wild and dream and then land the idea with that results orientation that comes from the masculine. ➡️ Market research. Rationality and analytics (masculine) and observation and empathy to read the market (feminine). ➡️ Business plan. More rationality than emotionality. Masculine. ➡️ Seeking and negotiating with investors. Confidence, decisiveness, ability to take risks, and communication skills. Masculine. ➡️ Launching. Quick decision-making, working under pressure, and a high sense of insecurity. Masculine. ➡️ Hiring talent and creating a workplace. Intuition, patience, attention to detail, and neutrality. Feminine. ➡️ Establishing company culture. Culture and values require sensitivity and observation skills. Feminine. ➡️ Set team goals and measure performance. Challenge and discipline are critical at this stage. Masculine. ➡️ Negotiating with customers, partners or suppliers. Assertiveness, building trust, assertiveness, analytical skills, empathy. We get the best results with balance. ➡️ Relationship management. Taking care of and maintaining the company's essential relationships, weaving a relational network. Feminine. ➡️ International expansion and growth. Determination and boldness (masculine) and controlled risk-taking (feminine). Here are also some illustrations I have made inspired by the book 😊 Which one is your favorite? Mine is number four 🦜

Only 30% of advertising and comms CEO roles are held by women 😳 This is despite women making up 70% of junior–manager positions across the industry. The step up to the C-Suite is where things seem to fall apart. And for women of colour, that gap is even more dramatic. Why does this matter? Because women make 80% of purchasing decisions. If they don’t see themselves reflected in leadership, or in the marketing messages created by that leadership, we surely miss not only representation, but commercial opportunity, too? Time and again it has been proven, women bring strengths the industry desperately needs: → Collaboration and emotional intelligence → Long-term, strategic thinking → Nuanced understanding of diverse audiences → A balance of bold creativity with empathy → Skill in navigating complex cultural landscapes Soooooo, how do we fix it? According to WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership ), five key levers drive change: 🗣️ Update the language of leadership ⭐ Promote for potential, not just experience ❤️🩹 Support women through health challenges 💻 Enable flexible working 👀 Better represent women in advertising and media For me, representation is one of the most powerful, yet easy-to-activate elements. But after attending a bunch of major industry events this year, I was SO BORED of seeing the same “type” of marketing guru booked for talks, featured in blogs, or presented as THE voice of the industry. In plain sight, there is an abundance of BRILLIANT women shaping some of the world’s biggest brands: 📺 Marian Lee, guiding Netflix’s global marketing 💄Asmita Dubey, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer at L’Oréal 💻 Janine Pelosi, who made Zoom a household name The talent is there. The impact is proven. What’s missing is visibility. If industry platforms, events, and organisations diversify the “thought leadership” spotlight, we give the next generation of women in marketing role models to look up to. And role models are EVERYTHING. They’re how the next gen see what’s possible and start believing they can get there too. If we are going to even slightly attempt to close the gap between mid-level and C-suite representation in our lifetime, then it’s time some fresh industry voices were handed the mic. 🔗Linking some great articles in the comments below. ------ 👋 I’m Jo Bird, Creative Director & Brand Builder 🎤 Now taking speaker bookings 🔗 Work with me – link in bio

Are female builders set up for success? Not according to a new report which found inflexible work conditions, poor support and inadequate amenities are among the various barriers faced by women in residential construction. The research from the University of Sydney Business School and the National Association of Women in Construction showed significant cultural issues prevented women from staying in the sector. Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), lead researcher Natalie Galea said the industry was out of step with modern workplaces, particularly in its approach to parental leave and pregnancy. "We also found that women are modifying their reproductive decisions to fit the job. They are delaying childbirth. They're working up until the moment of birth and then often returning early to the site to look after the project," she said. The report has called for changes including flexible work arrangements, extended paid parental leave and the introduction of an industry levy to fund pregnancy and parental leave for workers in small businesses. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gai5U_Qz How can the construction industry provide better support to attract and retain women? Share your thoughts in the comments below. By Brendan Wong