Do DEI statements, or Equal Opportunity Employer statements, on job descriptions impact perceived inclusiveness? Yes, according to research firm Datapeople.
Understanding How DEI
Statements Perform
We had a question: What is the impact of
diversity, equity, and inclusion
statements, or DEI statements , on job
seekers? To answer that question and a
couple of others, we decided to conduct
an experiment. Studies are nothing
unusual for Datapeople.
Data science has its limitations when
it comes to recruiting, so we use
behavioral science as well. Basically,
we can use data science to bring up
questions that behavioral science
can then try to answer.
Since 2015, Datapeople has collected
data from 10s of millions of job
descriptions from more than 40,000
employers. We can use this data to
classify jobs (for a better candidate
experience) and to provide content and
language guidance in our products.
For this study, we started with the
simple question of whether DEI
statements on job descriptions impact
the perceived inclusiveness of an
employer. While our study is not
absolutely comprehensive, we feel we
got a revealing answer to that question.
First, we wrote a job description for an
Office Manager position. We made it
generic and entry-level in the hopes
that most participants would feel they
qualify for the position. (So they
wouldn’t focus on whether they qualify.)
Next, we wrote five different DEI statements,
each with a different slant or intent. We wanted
to study whether the inclusion of a DEI
statement had an impact on job seekers. But
we also wanted to know the impact of different
types of DEI statements (in otherwise identical
job descriptions).
Using an online crowdsourcing platform, we
enlisted about 1,200 participants from a wide
spectrum of intersectionalities. (We asked
about age, gender, LGBTQ status,
race/ethnicity, proficiency in English, and
education.) We split participants randomly into
groups for each diversity statement.
We focused on three attributes to measure:
belonging, inclusion, and process fairness.
Belonging was how comfortable participants
would feel working at the company. Inclusion
was how inclusive participants perceived the
company to be. Process fairness was how
fair the process seemed.
Big takeaway: A DEI
statement can increase a
job or company's perceived
inclusiveness.
In our study, the presence of a DEI
statement significantly increased
perceived inclusiveness among
participants. In other words, just
having it there made the company
appear more inclusive.
Contact Us At:
https://datapeople.io/
Statements Perform
We had a question: What is the impact of
diversity, equity, and inclusion
statements, or DEI statements , on job
seekers? To answer that question and a
couple of others, we decided to conduct
an experiment. Studies are nothing
unusual for Datapeople.
Data science has its limitations when
it comes to recruiting, so we use
behavioral science as well. Basically,
we can use data science to bring up
questions that behavioral science
can then try to answer.
Since 2015, Datapeople has collected
data from 10s of millions of job
descriptions from more than 40,000
employers. We can use this data to
classify jobs (for a better candidate
experience) and to provide content and
language guidance in our products.
For this study, we started with the
simple question of whether DEI
statements on job descriptions impact
the perceived inclusiveness of an
employer. While our study is not
absolutely comprehensive, we feel we
got a revealing answer to that question.
First, we wrote a job description for an
Office Manager position. We made it
generic and entry-level in the hopes
that most participants would feel they
qualify for the position. (So they
wouldn’t focus on whether they qualify.)
Next, we wrote five different DEI statements,
each with a different slant or intent. We wanted
to study whether the inclusion of a DEI
statement had an impact on job seekers. But
we also wanted to know the impact of different
types of DEI statements (in otherwise identical
job descriptions).
Using an online crowdsourcing platform, we
enlisted about 1,200 participants from a wide
spectrum of intersectionalities. (We asked
about age, gender, LGBTQ status,
race/ethnicity, proficiency in English, and
education.) We split participants randomly into
groups for each diversity statement.
We focused on three attributes to measure:
belonging, inclusion, and process fairness.
Belonging was how comfortable participants
would feel working at the company. Inclusion
was how inclusive participants perceived the
company to be. Process fairness was how
fair the process seemed.
Big takeaway: A DEI
statement can increase a
job or company's perceived
inclusiveness.
In our study, the presence of a DEI
statement significantly increased
perceived inclusiveness among
participants. In other words, just
having it there made the company
appear more inclusive.
Contact Us At:
https://datapeople.io/