Case Study:
The Berlin-based Venture Capital arm of SIGNA Group, SIGNA Innovations, saw an increase of female applications from 12% to 40% by working with us to create more inclusive job ads.
120
total applicants
<10%
of applicants were women when the job was first posted
40%
of applicants received were from women at the end of the project
The Story:
As a sector-specific VC and part of the SIGNA Group, SIGNA Innovations is an active early-stage investor with a focus on Proptech, ConTech & Cleantech. In 2018, they started off with a team of 4 and have continuously been looking to strengthen the team from the beginning. In an effort to grow the team, they advertised internships 3-4 times a year, and successfully filled their first investment associate position in early 2020.
The Goal:
Increase the Share of Female Applicants by +10%
After having received about 120 applications for various positions so far, Signa noticed that the percentage of female applicants was alarmingly low. The received applicants for the associate position was less than 10% and the applications for the internship positions were around 12%. Considering that only about 5% of the applicants get an offer at all, the basic probability of a woman successfully moving through a funnel with these numbers was extremely low. This realisation lead to the goal of increasing the share of female applicants by 10%
The Solution:
Inclusive Job Ads
We worked with Signa to take a closer look at their job application, as this is where the data was indicating the problem was. We noticed that they had a long list of qualifications and were using a lot of masculine wording. We reduced the qualifications down to the essentials needed for the job, updated the wording, and helped them to better describe their company/team. By humanizing their team in the job description, more female applicants could really see themselves working for Signa. With these changes, we were able to surpass our initial goal by increasing the share of women applicants to 40%.
The steps after receiving the applications is where things start to get interesting. Female applicants outperformed male applicants across the board throughout the interview process.
Looking to improve the number of female applicants you receive? Reach out to Amelia to see how we can start collaborating!
