What does equal opportunity mean in a company?
Equal opportunity generally refers to equal access to education and career advancement for everyone. This means there must be no discrimination based on social characteristics such as social background, gender, religion, or cultural heritage. Unequal educational opportunities and qualifications are also part of this issue. Furthermore, various studies show that diverse teams are more successful than homogeneous ones.
Equal opportunity is reflected in areas such as:
- Job ad wording (including visuals): Studies show that certain terms can discourage specific genders. This is referred to as agentic language – words like “analytical” or “assertive” tend to deter women from applying. This must be considered when formulating job requirements. The goal should be a neutral job advertisement – or one that targets a specific group if, for example, a gender ratio is actively being adjusted.
- Active recruitment: Systematic, targeted personal outreach to potential applicants – such as women.
- Employment conditions: Creating equal opportunities through flexible time and location models, long workdays and part-time options, job sharing, pay equality, and mentoring programmes for equal career opportunities.
The challenge for experienced HR professionals
“At the beginning of every effort to improve equal opportunity stands the insight and willingness to rethink past practices and learn from other experiences.”
Not all recruiters find the transition easy. The above quote from an academic study on combating discrimination in recruitment is intended to encourage and motivate new ideas and approaches.
The issue with experienced HR professionals: their intuition, while valuable, can also be a trap – as decision-makers, they may carry bias. But what does that mean in concrete terms? It means candidates who resemble them are more likely to be hired (known as “affinity bias”). Anonymous applications, without details such as gender, origin, or age, often lead to different outcomes. The mental and strategic transition is a process. A shift in perspective – and sometimes anti-discrimination training – can help broaden views.
Step by step towards more equal opportunity
To truly increase equal opportunity (and reduce bias), the following factors and perspectives should be considered:
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Define guidelines for equal opportunity in the recruitment process
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Set quality criteria: dossier screening based on defined criteria or objective selection standards during pre-selection
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Ensure transparency in the recruitment procedure: provide a well-reasoned, as objective as possible, explanation for selecting candidates
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Use anonymous applications (such as via a Refline module)
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Conduct structured interviews: all candidates receive the same questions
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Review family-friendly structures and adjust working hours and models (e.g., jobsharing, part-time)
- Systematically record the current status (controlling) – and define measures for improvement (goal setting)
- Diversity management: Shift the approach to diversity within the company – this focuses less on hiring and more on the working conditions and experiences of current employees.
Achieving greater equal opportunity with Refline
E-recruiting software like Refline’s can be a major support. Refline offers a module called “Discrimination Act” – where the application form is shortened. Applicants do not need to enter a title, birthdate or nationality, and uploading a photo is not required. The initial selection process is thus conducted independently of applicants’ age, origin or gender. You can define if and based on what data multiple applications are detected (e.g., email address).
AI or automated matching systems are usually not a sustainable or strategically successful solution – unless grounded in ethical principles and awareness of unconscious bias. These tools rely on historical data, are not future-oriented – and thus do not promote equal opportunity, but instead reinforce outdated patterns.
It is therefore crucial that, as a recruiter, you are aware of such biases and outdated processes. With greater awareness, new strategies, and supportive tools like e-recruiting software, you move a significant step closer to achieving equal opportunity.