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This article was originally posted on Medium.com on May 27th, 2020.

A friend of mine recently asked me to review a job posting for the company he works for; they are trying to attract a more diverse workforce. As a woman who works in technology, I’ve read my share of red-flag-raising job openings, and I’ve had to deal with plenty of situations that would send anyone who doesn’t fit the white straight cisgender middle-class dude stereotype of a developer running.

It wasn’t until I started to review this particular text I realised I had a lot of opinions about this. And what better to do with those but compile a list of what (not) to do?

Don’t: include cringe words

One of the first things in a text that make me want to run for the hills is what Dutch people affectionately call “jeukwoorden”, or “itch words”; expressions that make you wince and cringe. Management lingo is full of these as it is (my most recent pet peeve: ‘highover’, which isn’t a word in any dictionary, and could just as well be substituted with ‘summary’ or ‘overview’). But especially in development, we see the appearance of terms like “code ninja”, “computer king”, “code hero”, “programmer beast”, “tech boss”, and I can tell you right now, I don’t know a single developer who identifies with those.

And if you really, really must insist on using a cringe word to lighten the mood, at the very least make sure these are inclusive of gender. Terms like king, hero and boss are associated with a masculine role, as much as we’d like them not to be.

Do: describe the role

Just what does a code ninja do anyway? Instead of using these buzzwords, describe the actual kind of person you’re looking for. Someone who is passionate about code, someone who is eager to learn, someone who has a lot of knowledge and experience — or someone who is fresh and new to coding? Someone who is flexible and loves to collaborate, someone who can deep dive into a complex problem and explain it in words others can understand? There are many ways to paint a picture of the kind of developer you are looking for, and it will help your prospective candidate identify themselves with the position and judge if they are actually a good fit for you and your company.

Don’t: ask that your developer has been coding since they were little

I was typing BASIC on a Commodore 64 when I was 8 years old, but as it turns out, that experience is not common for women in tech. It’s also not common for other groups who are statistically more likely to grow up in a lower-income family, and thus did not have a computer at home when they were little. Given that it’s 2020 the developers you are targeting likely grew up in the 1990s, when computers weren’t quite as ubiquitous or cheap as they are now, and plenty of kids were only able to use a computer at school. For children from poorer neighbourhoods, it was a public library. Even today, there are plenty of low-income families that can’t afford a computer or internet connection at home. And in many countries that we think of as ‘developing’ (a label with its own issues), home computers were never a thing. Technology skipped the PC and went straight to smartphones.

The vast number of women in tech I know got into it after their teenage years; when computers became more common. Many of them switched careers, or got into programming through fan projects. Many of them were introduced to development through a community — they don’t meet the stereotype of a bullied, nerdy person sitting alone in their room typing away on an ancient, very beige setup. They got started in a community that was welcoming and full of other women and non-binary folks wanting to learn tech outside of the largely toxic bro-culture in companies. And they want to work in a place similar to their ideal.

Don’t: mention alcohol, partying or working late

This seems like a given, but it’s shocking how many companies think a variation of “we have beer, pizza, and don’t mind checking in on a Saturday” is a plus for people who want to work there.

I have beer and pizza at home if I want, and a drinking culture is also an immediate turnoff for any muslim developer and can contribute to women feeling unsafe. It’s fine to provide these things during a company party or Friday afternoon event, but they should definitely not be something to mention in your job posting.

And if you really do expect developers to continue to work for you past regular business hours, by all means put this in your job posting — that way, we know what to avoid.

Do: be transparent and responsible about your hierarchy

A major red flag for me is a company which boasts how “everyone is equal”, “we are a horizontal organisation” and “you take your own responsibility”. In practice, this more often than not means when shit hits the fan, there’s nobody higher-up to escalate it to. Structural problems don’t get addressed, and stick to the individual or team that is experiencing them. It means that when people need help tackling something, others throw up their hands and go, “it’s not my problem”.

Of course people should take responsibility. That’s what being a professional is. When this phrase is explicitly mentioned in a job posting, I have to wonder: what’s going on that you need to remind people of this?

The best functioning companies I have worked for have had clearly defined lines of leadership, and paths up the tree where a problem can travel over. It had leaders who listened, who were transparent, who had their eyes and ears to the ground.

Having self-organising development teams is about letting developers decide what the best development solution is — not about letting developers do the work of managing the company for you.

What does this have to do with diversity? Weaknesses in managerial structure will hit marginalised groups first, and hardest. Often when signalling a problem, they will not be heard, or when heard, they will be disbelieved. This is discouraging and draining for those employees who don’t have the benefit of automatically being the loudest voice in the room by virtue of their gender or skin color.

Do: welcome all kinds

When you want to hire a more diverse workforce, consider where people are coming from; and consider that these different backgrounds are a major asset to your team and your company. A difference in viewpoints and lived experiences drives innovation, creativity and compassion. Your software will be better, and your company will be better. If you have a stereotypical image of what a developer looks like, both in appearance and personality, throw it out the window.

Do: reflect on your company culture

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to making your company culture more inclusive and welcoming to developers from marginalised groups. You can take these questions as a starting point:

• Do we have a Code of Conduct? (The answer should be ‘yes’.)
• How do we handle a situation where someone makes a sexist or racist joke? Do we speak up? Do we leave it up to whoever is a member of the targeted group to defend themselves if they’re offended, or do we point out that this kind of sentiment is unwelcome?
• How would we handle a coworker coming out as transgender?
• How would we react to a coworker bringing their same-sex partner to a company party?
• Do we treat a pregnant coworker worse than a coworker whose partner is pregnant? (See: The Motherhood Penalty vs the Fatherhood Bonus)
• Is our office accessible to a coworker in a wheelchair?
• Do we provide quiet spaces for neurodiverse coworkers — or better yet, have we ditched the open office plan for a less stressful, more productive environment?
• Are we flexible enough to allow people to work from home on multiple days, especially for single parents and neurodiverse colleagues, who need more time to recharge?
• If we have ‘unlimited free days’, do we actually check up on people that they still take enough free time — or do we allow the less assertive and more high-performing colleagues to overwork themselves?
• Do we have someone in a coaching or trusting role for people to confide in, not only when it comes to serious accusations, but also to reflect on dealing with daily problems and micro-aggressions?
• Are our company outings accessible and welcoming for coworkers who use a wheelchair or a cane, or who don’t like or are no good at sports? Do we provide an alternative to team bonding that doesn’t involve physical activity? Do we penalise neurodiverse coworkers for opting out of team outings, for whom this kind of social activity can be overwhelming?
• Do we provide a cleaning schedule or service, or do we expect developers to take responsibility themselves for keeping kitchen spaces clean (which almost always means that the women pick up the slack)?

Final words

Excellent developers come in all kinds and a more diverse workforce has been found to be a more productive one. Make sure you are ready and able to hire them.