The Civil Rights Act was signed into law in 1964, outlawing discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

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One year later, and as a direct result, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was formed to give workers protection against discrimination in the workplace. Despite these laws and protections, discrimination still exists in many workplaces. In order to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, employers should be aware of the potential for bias and take active steps to address it.

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The idea of hiring for diversity has evolved over the years, and organizations are now beginning to focus on inclusive hiring practices as a business strategy. Over the years data has shown that organizations with a higher degree of diversity outperform those without it. Hiring diverse candidates is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also good for business.

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There are many benefits to diversity in the workplace, including:

1. Improved creativity and innovation

2. Greater market insight

3. Enhanced problem-solving ability

4. Better teamwork

5. Improved communication

6. Increased productivity

7. Reduced costs associated with turnover

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There are many ways to go about hiring for diversity, but it starts with an inclusive hiring strategy.

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When creating an inclusive hiring strategy, it’s important to consider the following:

1. Write job descriptions that are free of bias.

2. Use diverse recruiting sources.

3. Evaluate candidates based on skills and qualifications

4. Use semi-structured interview questions to create unbiased candidate responses.

5. Coach your hiring managers and interviewers on unbiased hiring practices.

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We have a full guide on this called, "The Ultimate Checklist for Hiring Teams." It'll walk you through a diverse hiring process from the job description to the offer!

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Hiring diverse candidates takes small changes to your existing recruiting routine. One approach is to focus on increasing the number of applications from underrepresented groups. This can be done by advertising open positions in diverse media outlets and by partnering with organizations that serve underrepresented communities. Another approach is to use diverse recruiting sources, such as employee resource groups, professional associations, and online job boards that focus on diversity hiring.

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Once you have a pool of diverse candidates, it’s important to evaluate them based on skills and qualifications, not personal traits. One way to do this is to use interview intelligence software that's powered by AI and uses semi-structured interview questions. This type of software allows you to identify the best-qualified candidates without bias.

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What is Diversity Hiring Called

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There are a few different terms that are often used when discussing diversity hiring, including:

1. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

2. Affirmative Action

3. Workforce Diversity

4. Inclusive Hiring

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The term "equal employment opportunity" is typically used to describe the legal obligation of employers to provide a workplace free from discrimination. "Affirmative action" refers to proactive measures that organizations take to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in the workforce. "Workforce diversity" is a broader term that encompasses all the different types of diversity in the workplace, including race, gender, ethnicity, and more. "Inclusive hiring" is a term that's used to describe hiring practices that are designed to attract, hire, and retain a diverse workforce.

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What is diversity hiring called? The reality is that we use many terms to describe the simple concept of a fair and equal workplace for everyone. "Inclusive hiring" is by far the most accurate when discussing diversity hiring meaning. This is because it encompasses the proactive steps that organizations take to ensure a workplace that's great for everyone there.

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As you build your strategy, it's helpful to have a diversity hiring checklist that covers all the key steps. This will ensure that you're taking a comprehensive and inclusive approach to recruit.

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Your Checklist for Building a Diverse Workforce:

1. Evaluate your current workforce demographics and identify where you need to make changes.

2. Write job descriptions that are free of bias and use diverse recruiting sources.

3. Focus on increasing the number of applications from underrepresented groups.

4. Evaluate candidates based on skills and qualifications, not personal traits.

5. Use interview intelligence software that's powered by AI to identify the best-qualified candidates.

6. Coach your hiring managers and interviewers on unbiased hiring practices.

7. Implement policies and practices that support a diverse and inclusive workforce.

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Building a diverse workforce is a critical step in creating a fair and equal workplace for everyone. By following the steps on this checklist, you can ensure that your organization is taking the necessary steps to recruit, hire, and retain a diverse workforce.

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Diversity Hiring Companies

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Doing research on research on diversity and inclusion recruitment best practices, you'll find lists of companies who've implemented great initiatives.

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Here are some examples:

1. Google

2. LinkedIn

3. Salesforce

4. Amazon

5. Square

6. Facebook

7. Apple

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One correlation that's extremely interesting is that the executive teams of 90% of these companies were coached by Bill Campbell. William "Bill" Campbell was a football coach and technology business executive who served as the chairman and CEO of Intuit from 1994 until 2000. From 2000 on, Bill served as an executive coach to Apple's CEO Tim Cook, Google's Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Twitter's CEO Dick Costolo. He was known for his focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, which is evident in the success of the companies he worked with.

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In the book, "Trillion Dollar Coach," co-authors Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle share stories and lessons from Bill Campbell's coaching career. One of the most important lessons is the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

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"Bill believed that one of the key functions of a CEO was to build a team with an incredible diversity of thought, experience, and background. He encouraged his CEOs to hire people who were different from themselves in every way, including people who came from different cultures and different walks of life. He believed that the best ideas came from a diversity of perspectives, and he was always looking for ways to encourage more diverse thinking in the companies he coached."

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This quote from the book highlights the importance of diversity in the workplace, and how Bill Campbell's focus on this issue led to the success of the companies he coached.

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Inclusive, diversity hiring companies focus on inviting the right people to the table no matter their ethnicity, sex, gender, religion, or background. By doing this, they create cultures and organizations that are innovative and successful.

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What is your company doing to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace? If you're not sure where to start, consider using the checklists above to build a diverse workforce.

Why Diversity Hiring is Important

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Diversity hiring strategies are only useful when they're executed properly. To be successful inclusive hiring strategies need an internal champion. This often falls on the shoulders of HR but must be more than that. Buy-in from leadership is critical for the success of these types of initiatives.

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Leadership needs to understand not only why these initiatives are important but also how they can positively impact the company's bottom line. For example, companies with more diverse workforces have been shown to be 2.5 times more likely to hit their financial targets.

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In the article, "More Evidence that Company Diversity Leads to Better Profits," Forbes cited a McKinsey & Company study finding that organizations with diverse executive teams are 33% more likely to outperform their competitors. Furthermore, companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.

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While there are many reasons to prioritize diversity in the workplace, the bottom line is always important. After all, it's what we sell to the Board of Directors, Investors, and top talent. By understanding how diversity hiring best practices can impact the bottom line, you can make a case for why these initiatives are important to your company.

In this article, we've covered why diversity hiring is important. We've also looked at some checklists to help you build a more diverse workforce. If you're looking for more information on how to improve diversity in the workplace, we encourage you to check out our other articles on the topic. You can find a list of them here.

If you're currently looking for the tools to put your diversity hiring strategy into action, check out, "How to Build the Best Recruitment Tech Stack." We've assembled a full workflow for you from sourcing, ATS, and digital assistance to onboarding.

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Pillar is an interview intelligence software that helps you make better hires. Over the past 12 months, we've helped our customers lower employee turnover by more than 50%. This leads to huge savings and the retention of top talent. If you'd like to see how we can help you create a more effective, efficient, and equitable hiring process, schedule a demo to chat with our team!