Dive Brief:

• Mogul, a diverse talent "ecosystem," launched a subscription-based platform called Invitation-Only on Wednesday, which targets what the company said is a weak point in many organizations' diversity and inclusion plans: advancing women into leadership. 
• Through Invitation-Only, employers will be able to post VP-, SVP-, EVP-, president-, C-Suite- or board member-level jobs to Mogul's network of 15,000 senior-level women working in consulting, at high-growth startups and Fortune 500s. Candidates must nominate themselves to be a part of the network, Mogul said. Recruiters will also have access to an employer branding expert to help them attract, retain and advance diverse, experienced female talent, according to a press release emailed to HR Dive.
• The gender gap remains wide at higher levels in the workplace, with men in 62% of senior positions currently, Mogul said, citing a 2018 report from McKinsey & Company. The productivity tech company, which is a self-described "ecosystem for 30 million plus women," said 90% of senior leadership roles are gained through networking, but "85% of this network of senior positions are men." 

Dive Insight:

Statistics differ on how wide the gender gap is and when gender parity in leadership might be reached. Women still ascend to top-level leadership roles less often than men do — despite surpassing men in earning college degrees. Stereotypes about women's capabilities have been a barrier to their advancement, but there have been gradual shifts in perceptions over the past 70 years, a recent study from Northwestern University said. The study found that, while women are widely recognized to be as competent as men, they still aren't viewed as capable of assuming leadership roles.  

Talent pros looking for the right methods to source diverse candidates — both for high-level roles and for the rank-and-file positions — might try niche services like Mogul's. Experts have suggested connecting with candidates on niche job boards and through professional associations for diverse groups to better source this talent. 

"There really are a lot of communities springing up where people are rallying around different underrepresented groups. Those can be great opportunities for organizations to align themselves with the causes they believe in," Sarah Nahm, CEO of Lever, previously told HR Dive. "I would encourage organizations that have the budget to maybe sponsor some of those groups, or maybe even offer up a space for those groups to host an event at their office."

Organizations that already lack diversity in their workforces should avoid leaning on referrals for recruitment because the resulting applicants are likely to reflect the demographics of the acquaintances that referred them, experts have also noted. In addition, creating a publicly available diversity and inclusion mission statement or setting specific D&I goals, as Uber recently did, can help talent pros articulate their views to potential hires.