Have you seen this brilliant but sobering new Tumblr, Tech Companies That Only Hire Men?

It aggregates job ads posted by tech companies that are startling in their sexist nature. When we saw the blog (and the ads) last week, we knew we had to act and send a letter to all the companies, asking them to re-think their ads. Check out my letter below, and co-sign in the comments.

Dear [tech company],

My name is Noreen Farrell, and I’m the executive director at Equal Rights Advocates, a non-profit law firm advocating for women’s equality at work and at school.  I’m writing because I found your company listed in a recent blog post.

In the 40 years since our founding, ERA has worked tirelessly to break down economic and social barriers faced by women who want to work, or raise families, or both. On June 13, we’ll gather with our closest friends and supporters to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act – a seminal piece of legislation meant to ensure women have equal access to the economic security and social capital of a good job.

You can imagine, then, how heartened I was to see your company’s immediate response when listed on the Tech Companies That Only Hire Men blog, which aggregates employment ads from startups and other tech companies. Your original ad, presumably meant to target the highest quality candidates regardless of sex, solicited only a “he.”  But after being identified on the blog, you company took the important step of acknowledging the error and changing or deleting the post.

Why does non-inclusive language matter?

We know that women’s median earnings are lower than men’s in nearly all occupations, whether they work in occupations dominated by women, men, or in jobs with an even mix. But women are also more than twice as likely as men to work in occupations with poverty-line wages.  Male dominated jobs tend to pay more than female-dominated jobs at similar skill levels, particularly at higher levels of educational attainment.  Jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics not only pay better and more equally across the sexes than non-STEM jobs, they also have higher rates of full-time year-round employment.  Ensuring the access of women to these jobs is critical to ending occupational segregation that depresses women’s wages.

We also know that qualified women candidates exist. We hear from these women every day, and we bet you will too now that you advertise for them.  Thank you for editing your existing and future ads to call for “s/he.” It’s better for your business. It’s better for women. It’s better for everyone.

If you send us a copy of your revised job ad, we’ll be sure to let ERA’s supporters know you’ve committed to equal and fair hiring.  My sincere thanks for partnering with us on this important effort.

All the best,

Noreen Farrell

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