Recruitment is one of the key areas of creating greater diversity in an organisation. This is why Danske Bank has partnered with the start-up Develop Diverse  whose software automatically scans the bank’s job adverts for biases that could attract or discourage different groups of applicants, such as a certain gender, age or ethnicity.

Making language more inclusive produces results
“We can see clear improvements in the diversity of our customers' company culture, including Danske Bank”, says Jenifer Clausell-Tormos, CEO of Develop Diverse.
 
In a pilot project with Danske Bank covering 40 job adverts, the number of qualified female applicants grew by 81% and male applicants by 39% when bias was removed from the job adverts.

“The financial sector remains a relatively male-dominated industry, so the self-awareness that the bank has, and the willingness to do something about it, is really commendable”, adds Jenifer.

Image: Jenifer Clausell-Tormos, CEO Develop Diverse.

“It’s important that we do away with stereotypes, and not just make mobile banking pink to attract more women, for example. It’s about making everyone feel welcome in the company, which can be promoted with inclusive use of language, images, colours, even the fonts you use,” says Jenifer.

“It’s one thing to change number and distribution of applicants. It’s another thing to help companies build an inclusive culture by letting people reflecton their own biases. It’s definitely a motivational factor for me and Develop Diverse,” she adds. 

Develop Diverse is releasing a Danish-language version of its software this week. 

Diversity Council sets direction and objectives
It’s not just job announcements that are being focused on at Danske Bank. “We are looking at several internal processes through the lens of D&I,” Betina Dam Hansen, D&I Chief Officer explains. 

“Language helps create our reality, and a lot happens unconsciously – we reproduce norms and ways of being together, but fortunately this can be changed,” she says and continues:

“We are working on clear goals. We really want to be an attractive workplace for both men and women, and increase the share of women in management positions. Danske Bank wants to be a role model for the finance sector!”

Therefore, the bank’s Executive Leadership Team has established a Diversity & Inclusion Council with Mark Wraa-Hansen, Head of Personal Customers in Denmark, as the chairperson. The Council sets the overall direction for the bank’s work with D&I, while operational work is carried out by 18 D&I Leads in a wide range of business units across several countries. 

The Council’s starting point is that Danske Bank should “reflect the societies around us.” You will be able to feel included at Danske Bank, and be free to be who you are, which is part of the bank’s D&I mission statement. 

For example, the Council has entered into a partnership with the NGO Stonewall, which helps the bank to work for even more equal rights for LGBTQ+ people, in close cooperation with Danske Bank’s own rainbow network.