How to Increase Female Representation

Make sure everyone in the organization, from the employees to the C.E.O. understands the importance of diversifying the company’s workforce by increasing its representation of women.

The goal of increasing women employees is no different than any other strategic business strategy you undertake. You need to establish your baseline, set your goal, and create a plan to achieve. Consider the following:

1. Look at your company’s current percentage of women overall and then look at each department individually that are male dominated such as managerial roles, truck driver, maintenance, etc.
2. Once you have your percentage of female representation (e.g.: you have 40 drivers in total and 2 are female you divide your total into your number of females: 2 ÷ 40 = 0.05 or 5%) for the company as well as each department, you can then create a goal to increase your representation for the company overall as well as each department. So for example, if you have five percent female drivers and your goal is to increase that to 10% in the year 2016 you will need to increase your number of female drivers by 2 for a total of 4 out of your 40 drivers)
3. Make sure everyone shares this vision. Go to the section on this website, Making the Case and use this material to support your goal to increase women representation in the trucking industry. Engage in an internal campaign to get everyone in the company to buy into this goal by holding meetings, introducing the topic into already scheduled meetings, create internal bulletins or memos highlighting the corporate goal and why it is being done.

Identify what appeals to female applicants and highlight facts about your company that women would want to hear. You can do this by asking the women who are already working for you or search the Internet. Consider your organizational culture. Are you an Employer of Choice? Do you offer flexible work schedules and a safe work environment? These are just some of the questions that may appeal not only to female applicants but to all applicants as well.

There have been some surveys done that highlight what females look for in an employer. Check out Tanta de Decker’s article, “Winning hearts and minds: what female professionals look for in a future employer.” (Aug 2015) Randstad Sourceright. Retrieved from randstadsourceright.com

List only the essential skills required for the position and avoid adding technical skills as an essential “must have” that can be learned during the initial training period. Also check to ensure the criteria set in your advertisement is not out-dated or irrelevant with new process and/or out-dated technology and equipment. Sometimes these things can discourage underrepresented groups such as women.

It is important to remember that according to Hewlett Packard internal research female applicants are also less likely to apply for a job unless they feel they can respond to 100% of the criteria, whereas men apply as soon as they feel they can meet 60%. Imagine all the potential applicants you could be missing out on!
Tara Sophia Mohr. (August 2014) Why Women don’t Apply for Jobs unless they are 100% Qualified.” Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified/

Use gender-neutral or gender inclusive terms. For example:

• Do not use titles that imply one sex or the other.
• Do not use physical characteristics but just state physical ability needed

For more information on gender neutral language visit the government of Canada’s website entitled the Language Portal of Canada at https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/pecks-english-pointers/usage-6-gender-neutral-writing-pronoun-problem

Make a diversity statement in your advertisement. Let the pubic know you are looking to diversify your workforce to be inclusive of all. It is also ok to specify that you are looking for or welcome female applicants. Many employers shy away from specifying one group as they do not want to exclude all groups or they fear legal repercussions, however, it is perfectly acceptable and legal to target an underrepresented group to apply.

“We are an equal opportunity employer” or if it is a job that has low female representation such as a truck trailer mechanic or professional truck driver consider, “We welcome female applicants for this role.” These are just a couple of ways to express your intent to increase female representation as per employment equity.

Consider noting if you are willing to make accommodations to underrepresented groups to ensure equal opportunity. Many female applicants will shy away from considering or applying for non-traditional jobs because of past biases or stereotypes.

Consider not only the words you say but also ensure the pictures you are using are inviting and not discouraging to female applicants. Feature professional pictures of women working especially in non-traditional roles such as managers, truck driver and mechanics.

Perhaps you have a female employee already in a non-traditional role and with her permission you could make her the focus of your recruitment campaign with pictures of her doing the job. Avoid using any pictures that may be considered demeaning to women, perpetuate stereotypes, or send the wrong message.

When advertising on television or radio, ask for female voice-overs to be used on your advertisements if possible or create your own.

• Hold a career fair for women only or attend one offered by a local women’s group.
• Send out a press release to local media what you are doing a recruitment campaign exclusive for female applicants in underrepresented roles within your company such as professional truck driver, truck trailer technician, etc.
• Set up a separate page on your website exclusive for female applicants in non-traditional roles. Highlight your success stories and encourage testimonials from female staff.