Avoiding Discrimination in Language Requirements: A Guide for Inclusive Hiring

Specifying language requirements is often necessary for certain roles. However, great care must be taken to ensure the phrasing promotes inclusivity and avoids inadvertently causing qualified candidates to self-eliminate.

This article offers practical tips to make your job postings more inclusive and compliant with the guidelines of top job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn, helping you attract a diverse and highly qualified workforce.

What Constitutes Discriminatory and Biased Phrasing? 

Biased phrasing in job postings is a surefire way to narrow your talent pool. When job seekers encounter unclear terms, industry jargon, or excessive superlatives, they may assume the job isn’t for them.

Anti-discrimination frameworks protect employees from bias based on ethnicity, gender, age, or sexual orientation. Still, more subtle turns of phrase can slip past, excluding potential candidates. Non-native speakers, in particular, may feel discouraged by phrasing they find confusing or overly restrictive.

Bottom line: Even unintentional bias can discourage candidates very quickly and limit your options. Hiring teams must learn to recognize this unintentional bias and put things right to attract a broader, more diverse talent pool.

How Top Job Boards Address Discrimination

Understanding how platforms like Indeed and LinkedIn handle discriminatory phrasing helps you attract qualified candidates and comply with their standards:

Indeed prohibits content that excludes job seekers based on nationality, accent, or ethnicity and removes any postings that violate these rules. While language proficiency is certainly essential for roles, phrasing like “must be an English native speaker” is flagged as biased as it eliminates applicants from other parts of the world who would otherwise be highly qualified. Instead, Indeed recommends terms like “bilingual,” “proficient,” or “fluent” to attract a more diverse applicant pool.

LinkedIn follows similar guidelines, offering advice to improve applicant diversity and prevent posts from being removed.

Aligning with these best practices ensures compliance, broadens your talent pool, and strengthens your reputation as an inclusive employer.

5 Practical Tips to Avoid Discrimination in Language Requirements

Global employers trust Pipplet’s language assessment tool to enhance recruiting efforts. Drawing from our experience with diverse employers, we provide best practices that go beyond those of top job boards.

By implementing these practices, you’ll create a better candidate experience, improve recruitment outcomes, and build trust with employees who value your commitment to their growth.

1. Specify Language Levels Instead of “Native” or “Fluent” 

Clear, transparent requirements benefit both recruiters and candidates. The Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR, levels A1-C2) provides a widely recognized standard for setting expectations.

For example: Instead of “native German speaker,” be more instructive by saying “At least B2 level in German.”

The CEFR is extensively used worldwide in education, training, standardized tests, and professional settings. While its origins are European, it is recognized internationally and covers a broad range of languages, making it an essential tool for global recruitment.

By defining clear levels, the CEFR helps hiring managers set precise expectations and allows candidates to self-assess their proficiency against standardized benchmarks.

2. Link Language Requirements to Specific Job Tasks

In skills-based hiring, job descriptions and postings must focus on the work being done rather than the individual doing it. When language proficiency is required, tie it explicitly to the job’s tasks and responsibilities.

The CEFR framework excels in action-based scenarios, helping evaluate language proficiency as it applies to real-world situations.

For example: Instead of “Fluent in French,” specify: “Ability to respond to client inquiries in French, both verbal and written.”

This approach emphasizes when and where language skills are needed without overemphasizing “native” capabilities, fostering inclusivity while targeting the skills relevant to success in the role.

3. Encourage Broader Language Skills

In today’s global workforce, many individuals possess partial proficiency or multilingual abilities that can be valuable assets. Linguistic diversity is highly desirable for companies in international markets and fosters a more inclusive workforce where talent is recognized beyond language proficiency. This sentiment can be easily expressed in job postings.

Avoid overly restrictive phrasing in job postings. Instead, use phrasing that values additional language skills such as “Additional languages are a plus,” or “familiarity with Japanese is valued.”

This encourages candidates with varying levels of proficiency to apply, expanding your talent pool and celebrating diverse capabilities.

4. Avoid Arbitrary Standards

Reducing bias in recruitment starts with looking at roles and language requirements a little differently. Avoid the common assumption that every role requiring language proficiency demands perfect fluency. For certain roles, modest proficiency may be sufficient.

To understand these nuances, recruiters will need to work closely with managers to understand job tasks, working conditions, and expected outcomes.

For example, frontline workers need fluency to interact with customers effectively, while technical staff in the same environment might not require such skills if they’re not in direct communication with clients. Applying the same standard to both roles could unfairly exclude well-qualified applicants for the tech position. 

Here’s how CEFR levels align with customer service roles:

• B1: Suitable for predictable and repetitive interactions, such as basic support or FAQ handling. Examples include responding to standard questions about a product or service.
• B2: Recommended for roles requiring more spontaneous communication, like troubleshooting complex customer issues or addressing unique requests.
• C1: Necessary for high-level roles emphasizing exceptional communication and rapport-building. Examples include handling VIP clients, resolving sensitive complaints, providing concierge services, or managing escalations diplomatically.

By tailoring language standards to the specific demands of each role, you can create fairer, more inclusive hiring practices.

5. Align the Assessment with Job Requirements 

Every job, role, and candidate is unique, so language assessments should be tailored to the skills required for success.

For roles emphasizing specific abilities like writing or speaking, assessments should focus on those areas. Identifying the essential skills for each position ensures evaluation criteria align with hiring goals.

Consider also that if a candidate falls short in one area (e.g. writing), they may still excel in other roles or benefit from coaching, upskilling or additional training to reach the desired level.

The talent acquisition head of a CX company exemplifies this approach: “Pipplet language assessments have been essential in helping our recruiters identify the right candidates. It also supports upskilling by placing them in the right training programs.”

This targeted approach ensures fair evaluations and helps candidates grow into roles that match their potential.

How can Pipplet help?

Pipplet empowers organizations to hire inclusively by providing language assessments that focus on what truly matters for each role. Our language assessment tool:

• Aligns with CEFR standards to offer clear, internationally recognized proficiency levels
• Evaluates oral and written skills for tailored insights
• Simulates job-specific scenarios to measure practical language abilities
• Provides fair, unbiased results to reduce hiring bias and support diverse talent acquisition

By focusing on job-relevant language skills, Pipplet helps you create fairer hiring processes, broaden your talent pool, and make confident, data-driven decisions.

Visit our website to learn more or get in touch for tailored advice for your next hiring campaigns.