How to Write Inclusive, Bias-Free Job Descriptions
We didn't fully believe how much wording alone could move applicant behavior until we watched it happen twice on the same role. Rewriting a handful of words in an otherwise unchanged post is the entire premise behind inclusive job descriptions — the job and the pay didn't change, only the language did, and the pool of who applied changed anyway. Our job description guide touches on tone briefly; this page is the specific language audit.
This isn't about softening a job posting into vagueness. It's about noticing which words carry an unintended signal — masculine-coded adjectives, age-coded phrasing, ability-assuming language — and swapping them for words that describe the same requirement without the extra baggage attached.
One note up front: this page is practical writing guidance, not legal advice. If you have specific compliance questions about your job postings, talk to an employment attorney familiar with your state and industry.
Gendered words to avoid (and what to use instead)
Certain adjectives read as coded masculine or feminine even though they're technically neutral on paper, and studies of job-posting language have repeatedly found that candidates respond to this coding — masculine-coded language measurably suppresses applications from women, even when the underlying role is identical.
| Biased or coded phrase | Inclusive rewrite | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Rockstar / ninja / guru | Skilled [role], experienced [role] | Coded, informal, and reads as masculine and youth-coded to many candidates |
| Aggressive go-getter | Proactive, results-driven | "Aggressive" is a strongly masculine-coded adjective in posting-language research |
| Recent graduate | Entry-level, 0–2 years of experience | Age-coded phrasing that can imply an unstated age preference |
| Must be able to lift 50 lbs without assistance | Must be able to lift 50 lbs, with or without accommodation | Original phrasing can read as excluding disabled candidates who could do the job with reasonable accommodation |
| He/she will manage the team | They will manage the team, or the [role] will manage the team | Binary gendered pronouns exclude candidates outside that binary and needlessly gender the role |
| Native English speaker required | Fluent written and spoken English required | The original conflates nationality/origin with a language proficiency requirement |
| Young, energetic team | Collaborative, motivated team | "Young" is age-coded language that can function as an implicit age preference |
| Strong work ethic, no excuses | Reliable, accountable | Reads as a veiled reference to attendance/disability issues rather than a real requirement |
Coded language beyond gender
Gendered wording gets the most attention, but coded language shows up along other lines too — age, disability, and national origin most commonly — often through phrases that feel harmless but carry an implicit filter.
- Age coding: "digital native," "fresh perspective," or a maximum years-of-experience cap can function as an age filter even without stating one directly.
- Ability coding: requiring physical capabilities in absolute terms ("must stand for 8 hours") where a reasonable accommodation could achieve the same outcome narrows the pool unnecessarily and raises legal exposure.
- Origin coding: "native speaker" requirements where the actual need is language proficiency, not birthplace or nationality.
- Culture-fit coding: vague phrases like "must fit our culture" or "like family here" that don't describe any actual job requirement and can mask unconscious bias in screening.
The U.S. EEOC — prohibited employment policies guidance on prohibited employment practices makes clear that job postings themselves can create legal exposure when language expresses a preference based on protected characteristics, even indirectly — which is exactly what most coded phrases do without employers intending it.
Rank on skill, not on wording
Jobedly's AI agents score applicants 0–100 against the actual role requirements, not against language cues, so a candidate isn't disadvantaged by wording they never wrote.
Find candidates with AIAccessibility in the posting itself
Inclusive language covers word choice, but accessibility covers the posting's format and process too — and this half gets skipped more often than the wording half.
- State physical requirements accurately and note that reasonable accommodations will be considered, rather than phrasing requirements in absolute, no-exceptions terms.
- Keep the application process itself accessible — avoid application steps that require a specific device, unusually fast turnaround, or a format that assumes a particular ability.
- Use plain, direct sentence structure. Long, jargon-dense postings create an accessibility barrier for candidates with certain cognitive or language-processing differences, on top of just being harder for everyone to parse quickly.
- If you list an EEO statement, keep it accurate to your actual practices — a copy-pasted statement that doesn't reflect real hiring behavior does more harm than including none at all.
None of this requires legal language in the posting itself. It requires describing the real requirement rather than an absolute version of it, and building an apply process that doesn't quietly assume every candidate has the same tools and time available.
Equal-opportunity framing, done honestly
An equal employment opportunity statement is common on job postings, and for good reason — per U.S. EEOC — prohibited employment policies, discrimination based on protected characteristics in hiring, including in how a role is advertised, is prohibited under federal law. A short, accurate statement signals that intent clearly to candidates deciding whether to apply.
A workable, honest version: "[Company] is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other legally protected status." Keep it short, keep it accurate, and don't treat it as a substitute for actually auditing the language above it.
This is guidance on writing practice, not a legal compliance checklist — job posting law varies by state and by industry, and some jurisdictions have additional requirements (pay transparency laws are a common example). If you're unsure whether a specific posting meets your local requirements, that's a question for an employment attorney, not a content page.
The "inclusive language is just being politically correct" myth
The upside isn't just ethical, either. A wider applicant pool from the same posting effort is a practical recruiting gain — more qualified people considering the role, at no additional cost to write or post it.
Auditing your own postings before you publish
A quick pass before publishing catches most of what matters here — you don't need a formal audit process for every posting, just a consistent five-minute check.
- Scan the responsibilities and requirements sections for any word from the gendered-language table above, and swap it for the plain-requirement version.
- Check every absolute physical or availability requirement for whether "with or without accommodation" language fits.
- Read the posting once purely for tone — does it describe the job, or does it describe a type of person? If it's the latter, revise toward the former.
- Confirm your EEO statement, if included, is accurate to current practice rather than boilerplate left over from an old template.
- Check that requirements are genuinely required, not preferences — our page on how to write job requirements covers this specific overlap between inflated requirements and unintentional bias.
This pairs directly with the structural side of writing a posting — get the language right within the job description template we recommend, and the two together cover both what the posting says and how it says it.
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Post a job freeFrequently asked questions
What words should I avoid in a job description for inclusivity?
Does inclusive language in a job posting actually change who applies?
Is an equal opportunity statement legally required on a job posting?
How do I write physical requirements without excluding disabled candidates?
Is this page legal advice?
Does removing biased language mean lowering the bar for candidates?
Glossary
- Gender-coded language
- Words that read as implicitly masculine or feminine to candidates even when technically neutral, shown to influence who applies to a posting.
- Coded language
- Phrasing that carries an implicit filter along lines like age, ability, or origin without stating a preference directly.
- Reasonable accommodation
- A modification to a job's requirements or environment that allows a qualified candidate with a disability to perform the role.
- EEO statement
- A short statement on a job posting affirming that hiring decisions are made without regard to legally protected characteristics.
- Applicant self-selection
- The tendency of candidates to decide not to apply based on how a posting's language makes them feel described, or not described, by the role.