Women not receiving an equal opportunity to get their foot on the first rung of the corporate ladder.
Diversity and inclusion is a topic within the business world that is continuously being addressed and worked upon. As many studies show, there is little equality within boardrooms, equal pay and opportunities for minority communities. New research from job discovery platform DirectlyApply has revealed which companies within the Fortune 500 have the most gender-inclusive job descriptions. Out of all the top 100 Fortune 500 companies, Cigna ranked as having the most gender-inclusive language within its job adverts. The company also ranked first for its admin and operations job roles, showing a high level of balance in its language to attract both female and male candidates looking to apply for jobs. The American Airlines Group falls in second place, with an overall score of 11.8. Ranking third best for its technology and admin & operations job adverts, the airline shows a good level of fairness between its masculine and feminine language, limited use of jargon, correct grammar and a reduced education bias. With an overall score of -6.2, Best Buy ranks as the worst company for its job descriptions regarding diversity and inclusion. The company showed the poorest results for legal and admin roles as its job applications were masculine dominated throughout their language and tone, potentially off-putting to female job seekers. Despite its continuous approach to improving equality worldwide, Nike’s global sports brand ranked as the second-worst for its diversity and inclusion within its job descriptions. For accounting, admin, and technology roles, Nike was the worst when making its job descriptions inclusive for female applicants. This, partnered with a low score for its graduate roles, meant that overall, the brand performed poorly within the study.As of the current situation, at least 14 companies within the Fortune 500 are not attracting females for their graduate roles meaning it is unlikely that there will be an increase in the number of female CEOs in the future as women are not receiving an equal opportunity to get their foot on the first rung of the corporate ladder.
Will Capper, Co-founder, DirectlyApply, said, “There is a clear lack of gender diversity within CEOs for the top 100 Fortune 500 companies. Eight of the 100 CEOs are female, showing a clear need towards a further push for equal opportunity…It is vital that companies take a hard look at their job descriptions if they are to build a more inclusive workforce. We often hear employers complain about skills shortages and a lack of diversity in various roles and positions. However, by not addressing the imbalances and unconscious bias that are consistently seen at the job description level, it is highly unlikely that they will begin to redress the imbalances we currently see in the workplace…If we are to see any change in the number of female CEOs in the future, we must address the language and tone used within job descriptions now to allow for a maximum opportunity for females to apply for entry-level roles across all industries.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
