The tech industry is booming, yet it’s well-documented that it’s still a largely male-dominated space. Though there are a lot of reasons for this that may be beyond our control as hiring managers, we can tweak the hiring process in order to bring more women into the tech fold.

We sat down with Yael Sapir-Zehavi, the VP of Human Resources at Tailor Brands, to get her take. “There are a number of things we can do all along the hiring funnel in order to fix the biases that help to create the gender imbalance in high-tech,” Sapir-Zehavi begins, “starting with the top of the funnel.”

Be an Equal Company From the Start
Addressing the top of the hiring funnel means answering the question: How do you get more qualified women to apply for positions in tech and come for interviews?

“If you’re a relatively small company like we are at Tailor Brands, you need to make sure you’re hiring professionals. This means we can’t implement affirmative action to balance the gender gap; we have to hire people with the right potential and experience,” Sapir-Zehavi acknowledges. “If you get to Tailor Brands, it means you have the right skills for the job.”

So what can you do to increase your chances of hiring women with relevant experience?

“You have to set yourself up as an equal company to begin with,” Yael says. Here’s how she suggests we go about it:

Set the same expectations for men and women
This applies both to the way you treat employees as professionals, and to setting the expectations for a good work-life balance.

“For example, we believe in active parenting,” Sapir-Zehavi says. “It’s 2021, and it’s not only  mothers who want to participate in their children’s lives! If the standard is for parents to go home early from work so they can pick up their kids from kindergarten, then that acceptance needs to extend to men as well.”

When something is considered acceptable for men in the workplace, Zehavi explains, it makes it more comfortable for women by default. “It’s not just about helping men to be better dads; it also helps women to feel like they’re in an ecosystem that supports them as parents.” Being an equal company means creating a culture in which there’s no judgment on parents, regardless of their gender.

Establish a flexible landscape
This, too, applies especially to employees who are parents. In this day and age, most women in high-tech are parents, and having a flexible work schedule allows parents to feel comfortable coming and going as they need to.

Mothers tend to need this type of scheduling flexibility and establishing your company as one that provides it will help parents to fit in better – making your company a more attractive option to mothers (or women who are thinking about having children in the future) as a result.

Eliminate any salary gaps between men and women
Trying to fix current salary gaps is important, but you can also diminish these gaps from the get-go.

“You can maximize salary gaps as an employer, because if a woman asks for less than her male counterpart, you can save money for your company, right?” Sapir-Zehavi asks. “We don’t do that. If we hire a female candidate whose salary expectations are lower than what I know a man would ask for in her place, we’ll raise the salary even if she doesn’t ask.”

Eliminate these gaps from the beginning and try to actively fix gaps in your company that already exist.

Loosen the demands in your job descriptions
Women tend to apply for job positions when they fulfill 80% or more of the job requirements, whereas men will still apply even if they only meet 30% of the requirements.

“If you have a long list of demands in a job description, you lower the likelihood that women will send in their resumes,” Sapir-Zehavi says. “If you want to get more CVs from women in the mix, you have to loosen the demands from the beginning.”

Have a strong social presence
Use social media to put your company on the map – especially in women-friendly groups.

“Let’s say I’m part of a Facebook group called “Women in High-Tech,” and someone asks a question about coming back from maternity leave. I would go ahead and answer that with something like, ‘Here at Tailor Brands, we do X, Y, and Z.’ Joining the conversation allows us to show that we’re a friendly company for women.”

You can also create hiring campaigns on social media that use language your potential candidates identify with. “A lot of times, hiring managers want to sound ‘sexy’ to candidates, and they end up using phrases that don’t speak to women at all,” Sapir-Zehavi remarks.

“None of the women I know refer to themselves as ‘ninjas’ or ‘samurais;’ a campaign that starts with ‘Looking for dev-ops warriors’ is not going to draw women in or make them feel seen. Instead, we emphasize women’s equality in our creatives, and we avoid using male-oriented phrases.”

Work with partners
You likely have recruiters or other vendors working with you; let them know how women-friendly you are so they can continue the conversation for you!

“If I’m working with a placement agency, I want them to tell candidates that Tailor Brands is made up of 50% women, and that we have a work environment that’s supportive for parents,” Sapir-Zehavi states. “I’ll use them to help us build a brand as a company that puts equality high on our agenda.”

And, finally –

Talk about it as part of something that defines you
It’s really important to put equal representation on the agenda. “Unfortunately, we’re not there yet as a society,” says Sapir-Zehavi. “We need to actively focus on it, because equality in the workplace is not something that’s taken for granted yet.”

Talk about it, put it on the agenda, emphasize how important it is to the success of your company, and celebrate it!

Ensure an Equal Hiring Process Along the Funnel
Once you bring in more female candidates, Sapir-Zehavi says, you have to make sure that the actual hiring process is equal for all genders. “If the hiring process is equal, then the chances you’re going to hire a woman or man for a particular position is equal as well.”

These are some ways Yael suggests going about it:

Train interviewers about common biases
Yael raises the issue that men and women often behave differently when they’re interviewing. Men tend to inflate their own past projects and contributions, while women tend to minimize their previous experience and credit others for their successes.

“If a man tells you about something he did in the past, mentally take 20% off of what he says, and if a woman tells you about what she did, add 20%.”

You and your hiring staff need to know about these gender biases in order to properly interview either type of candidate.

Add a female interviewer
This is an easy one: Sometimes, it’s easier for women to talk to other women! Having a woman present as early in the interview process as possible will send your female candidates the signal that they can feel comfortable – both in the interview and in your company.

Proactively share information
There are things you’re not allowed to ask your candidates, but that shouldn’t stop you from proactively addressing certain issues with them.

“This is a big one,” Yael says. “I don’t wait for candidates to ask me if we have flexible working hours or how it is to be a parent at Tailor; I just start to talk about it, the fact that I have three kids; that the flexible working hours are really helpful for me as a parent; that it’s really common for people to leave early to pick up their kids from school a few times a week; that we don’t need to see a doctor’s note if you take a day off to stay with your sick kid at home, etc.”

If you have policies in place that make your environment more women-friendly, mention them! Let your candidates know that it’s part of your company culture.

And, last but not least:

Standardize the interview process
Make the interview process the same across the board – including asking both men and women the same questions.

“I want to have a lot of ‘judges’ in the interview process,” Sapir-Zehavi says. “When you have four interviewers and the same questions are being asked, it makes the process less fluid and more concrete – which helps ensure that all candidates get the same chance to pass their interviews.”

All of these tips are key to bringing more women into tech. “Change starts within us,” Yael concludes. “If this is the change you want to see in tech – make it happen.”