Here are some tips to help if you would like to recruit women to your organisation, project, company, etc.
Think about why you want to recruit women
Some of the reasons projects might want to recruit more women include:
- A sense of social justice or that it is the right thing to do
- Want graphic designers, documenters, or people with "people skills", and think women will provide that
- Believe that having more women in a group will make the group behave better
- Think that a diversity of interests and experience will make for a better or more event/product/whatever
- Think it would be nice to have some eye candy around the place, or maybe get a date
It is probably a good idea to spend some time thinking about what your reasons are. Make a list, and talk it over with some people. Consider whether your reasons are rooted in Essentialism, Pigeonholing, or Tokenism, or whether perhaps they are just plain creepy. Talk this through with others on your team/project/whatever, and be clear about what your motivations are. If, on reflection, you feel that your motivations are sound (non-exploitative, not based in underlying sexism, etc) then you would probably do well to communicate those motivations to women you speak to. Otherwise, they'll be left wondering what your motivations are, and might worry that they're the less pleasant kind.
Make sure your project is appealing
Before you even start to reach out to women you might want to recruit, make sure your house is in order.
- Does your project have a good website that explains what you do and why it's awesome?
- Do you show that your existing community is diverse and welcoming?
- If someone's interested in joining, is it clear how they'd do that?
- Do you have policies and practices that support women and other minorities in your organisation, such as a Code of conduct, Harassment policy, commitment to Accessibility, flexibility around forms of participation and time spent, Childcare, etc?
Know what you are looking for
A lot of people say things like "I'd really like to recruit more women" but don't explain much beyond that.
- Specify any qualifications you have in mind, eg:
- People who know X programming language
- People who have previously spoken at large conferences
- Excellent writers who have had stuff published professionally
- Come up with a profile of the sort of person you'd like to recruit
- Make sure you communicate this profile to people when you talk to them about recruiting; if you just say "we want women" it won't be very effective.
Work your networks
Once you have made sure your project is welcoming and appealling, and you have come up with a better description of what you're looking for than "is a woman", it's time to reach out to people you know.
Make sure you send information about what your project is, what sort of person you're looking for (skills, experience, values), and what you want your contacts to do. Just saying "we're looking for X" is not enough. You have to say, "Could you please forward this email to any women you know who fit our description" or "Would you mind blogging about this" or "Could you introduce me to Ms. Y who I see you're connected to on LinkedIn."
Make it personal
Don't just blast out a form letter to everyone you know who happens to be female (or worse yet, to mailing lists catering to women in your field). Personalise your message, and be prepared to follow up with reminders, offer to answer questions, or offer advice/mentoring/support to women who might be interested.