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Inclusive Job Ad Checker

Does your job ad quietly put good candidates off?

Paste a job ad to find wording that quietly shrinks your applicant pool — restrictions on gender, age, marital status or nationality, photo and age requests, gender-coded words and hype — with a fix for each. A sample Gulf ad is loaded so you can see how it works.

How the inclusive wording check works

The checker reads your ad against five lists. Restrictions are phrases that limit who can apply for who they are — 'male candidates only', 'single status', 'below 30 years', 'Filipino nationals only', 'able-bodied'. Biased asks are requests for a photo, age, date of birth, marital status or nationality before the interview. Gender-coded words come from published research on job-ad wording; the checker counts masculine- and feminine-coded words and flags only a clear imbalance, plus gendered job words like 'salesman' or 'foreman'. Hype phrases ('rockstar', 'ninja') are flagged because they read as an in-group. Finally, it looks for a line that says who is welcome and any flexible-working options. Every rule is transparent: the same ad always gets the same score.

Restriction: A rule about who someone is rather than what they can do.
Gender-coded word: A word research links to a gender stereotype, e.g. 'dominant' or 'nurturing'.
People of determination: The UAE's term for people with disabilities, used in official and job-ad wording.

Common Gulf job-ad phrases and what the checker says

Phrase	Flagged as	Suggested fix
Male candidates only	Restriction (gender)	Remove — describe the work instead
Single status preferred	Restriction (marital status)	Remove
Indian / European nationals only	Restriction (nationality)	Remove; if you need Arabic, say 'fluent Arabic'
Must be able-bodied	Restriction (disability)	Describe the task: 'regularly lift 20 kg boxes'
Send your CV with a recent photo	Biased ask	Ask for photos after the offer, for the visa
Young, energetic salesman	Age-coded + gendered word	Motivated salesperson
UAE nationals preferred	Not flagged	Lawful under Emiratisation — keep it if it applies

What this check can't do

It reads English wording; Arabic text isn't checked for coded words yet.
Some physical requirements are genuine (e.g. lifting for a warehouse role) — describe the task rather than the person.
It isn't legal advice. Nationalisation rules and labour law differ by country.

Data Sources

Gaucher, Friesen & Kay (2011), Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality

Fix the rest of the ad

Score salary, title and structure with the job ad grader, check sentence length and jargon with the readability checker, or let the job description rewriter restructure it for you.

Frequently asked questions

What does the inclusive job ad checker look for?

Five things, worth 100 points: restrictions on who can apply (gender, age, marital status, nationality, religion, disability or appearance — 40 points), asking for a photo, age, date of birth or nationality up front (15), the balance of masculine- and feminine-coded words plus gendered job words like 'salesman' (20), hype phrases such as 'rockstar' or 'work hard, play hard' (10), and whether the ad says who is welcome and mentions flexibility (15). Every hit is highlighted in your text with a suggested fix.

Is 'UAE nationals preferred' or 'Saudis only' discriminatory?

No — preferring citizens supports Emiratisation, Saudization and the other GCC nationalisation programmes, and some Saudi professions are legally reserved for Saudis. The checker never flags a preference for the country's own nationals. It does flag restrictions to other nationalities ('Indian nationals only', 'European passport holders'), because those exclude people for where they're from rather than what they can do.

What are gender-coded words?

Words that research has linked to masculine or feminine stereotypes. A 2011 study by Gaucher, Friesen and Kay found that ads heavy in masculine-coded words ('competitive', 'dominant', 'assertive') looked less appealing to women, without making them more appealing to men. One or two such words are fine; a cluster of them tilts who applies. The checker counts both lists and only marks it down when masculine words clearly outnumber feminine ones.

Why is asking for a photo or age flagged? Gulf ads do it all the time.

It's common, but it invites bias at the shortlisting stage — the recruiter sees a face and an age before the skills. You will need a photo, date of birth and passport details for the visa, so collect them after the offer. Many multinational employers in the Gulf already work this way.

Does the law in the Gulf ban discriminatory job ads?

UAE labour law prohibits discrimination on grounds such as sex, race, colour, religion, national or social origin and disability, while allowing priority for UAE nationals. Other GCC countries have their own rules. Beyond the law, restrictive ads simply shrink your pool. This tool checks wording only and isn't legal advice.

Is my job ad uploaded anywhere?

No. The check runs entirely in your browser. Your text is only sent if you choose to email yourself the report or post the job.

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Inclusive Job Ad Checker

Does your job ad quietly put good candidates off?

INCLUSIVE WORDING CHECK · SAMPLEScore 6/100

Sales Executive – Dubai We are a fast-growing FMCG distributor looking for a young (Age-coded word — describe the work instead), aggressive (Masculine-coded word — fine on its own, but a cluster of them puts some applicants off) and competitive (Masculine-coded word — fine on its own, but a cluster of them puts some applicants off) salesman (Gendered job word — try 'salesperson', 'supervisor', 'workforce') who is fearless (Masculine-coded word — fine on its own, but a cluster of them puts some applicants off) with targets. Male candidates only (Gender restriction — hire on skills, not gender), single status (Marital-status restriction — drop it; marital status says nothing about ability) preferred. Responsibilities: - Visit retail outlets across Dubai and Sharjah - Hit monthly sales targets - Report daily to the sales manager Requirements: - 2+ years of FMCG sales in the UAE - Valid UAE driving licence - Native English speaker (Say 'fluent' instead of 'native' (nationality-coded)) You will be a rockstar (Hype phrase — say what the job involves instead) closer in a work hard, play hard (Hype phrase — say what the job involves instead) team. Send your CV with a recent photo (Asking for a photo invites appearance bias — ask for it after the offer if a visa needs it) and mention your age (Asking for age, date of birth, marital status or religion up front invites bias — collect it after the offer for visa paperwork) to [email protected]

6/100 · Likely to exclude good candidates

Missing: No who-you-are restrictions 0/40
Found 4 restrictions: "male candidates only", "young", "native english speaker", "single status". Remove them and describe the skills the job needs instead.
Missing: Fair application process 0/15
Asks for personal details up front ("CV with a recent photo", "mention your age"). Collect them after the offer, when the visa needs them.
Improve: Balanced, gender-neutral wording 6/20
Leans masculine: 3 masculine-coded vs 0 feminine-coded words. Swap a few (e.g. 'competitive' → 'motivated', 'dominant' → 'leading') or add how the team works together. Also swap gendered words: "salesman".
Missing: Plain, welcoming tone 0/10
Hype phrases: "rockstar", "work hard, play hard". They read as an in-group and put off experienced candidates.
Missing: Says who is welcome 0/15
Add a one-line welcome (e.g. 'We welcome applications from everyone, including people of determination') and any flexible-working options.

Restrictions:: 4
Masculine-coded:: 3
Feminine-coded:: 0

How the inclusive wording check works

Restriction

A rule about who someone is rather than what they can do.

Gender-coded word

A word research links to a gender stereotype, e.g. 'dominant' or 'nurturing'.

People of determination

The UAE's term for people with disabilities, used in official and job-ad wording.

Common Gulf job-ad phrases and what the checker says

Phrase	Flagged as	Suggested fix
Male candidates only	Restriction (gender)	Remove — describe the work instead
Single status preferred	Restriction (marital status)	Remove
Indian / European nationals only	Restriction (nationality)	Remove; if you need Arabic, say 'fluent Arabic'
Must be able-bodied	Restriction (disability)	Describe the task: 'regularly lift 20 kg boxes'
Send your CV with a recent photo	Biased ask	Ask for photos after the offer, for the visa
Young, energetic salesman	Age-coded + gendered word	Motivated salesperson
UAE nationals preferred	Not flagged	Lawful under Emiratisation — keep it if it applies

What this check can't do

It reads English wording; Arabic text isn't checked for coded words yet.

Some physical requirements are genuine (e.g. lifting for a warehouse role) — describe the task rather than the person.

It isn't legal advice. Nationalisation rules and labour law differ by country.

Frequently asked questions

What does the inclusive job ad checker look for?

Is 'UAE nationals preferred' or 'Saudis only' discriminatory?

What are gender-coded words?

Why is asking for a photo or age flagged? Gulf ads do it all the time.

Does the law in the Gulf ban discriminatory job ads?

Is my job ad uploaded anywhere?

No. The check runs entirely in your browser. Your text is only sent if you choose to email yourself the report or post the job.