The Network Gap

Defining the Network Gap
In an ideal world, an open position would attract perfectly qualified candidates from a diverse range of applicants. Unfortunately, when it comes to finding a job, who you know often matters more than what you know – this inefficiency in the talent market is what we refer to as the Network Gap.

At LinkedIn we believe that two people with equal talent should have the same access to opportunity, but that isn’t always the case. Members’ professional networks have a significant impact on their ability to find a new job, which means as a recruiter, you might be missing some of the most qualified candidates simply because they don’t have the right connections. In fact, 70%* of professionals get hired at companies where they already have a connection.

Your background can determine the strength of your network
Your ability to cultivate a strong network depends on your background - you’re up to 12x* more likely to have a strong network if you live in an affluent area, went to a top school and work for a prestigious company. Most people are surprised to find out that these factors play such a critical role in their ability to build a strong network, which is all the more reason to continue making new connections.

The Network Gap across APAC
Gender plays a role in the strength of your professional network. In addition to where you are, the ability to build a strong network can be dependent on who you are. Statistically speaking, women across the world are less likely to have strong connected networks than men. The Network Gap between men and women can be seen across virtually every country in APAC to varying degrees.

For example, women in Australia are 30% less likely than men to have a strong connected network. The map below indicates the relevant percentages across countries in the APAC region.

How likely are women to have weaker, less connected networks than men?

5 tips to drive an inclusive talent strategy
Whether your day job is recruiting or your focus is on developing and implementing your talent strategy, here are 5 tips to help you build a diverse team:

1. Expand beyond referral programmes to ensure you have access to the best candidates for the job
2. Track job application and response rates - LinkedIn has diversity insights integrated into all of its Talent Solutions
3. Make sure the language in your job adverts is positive and inclusive - our Language Matters Report explores how words can impact
the experience of candidates and employees by gender, as well as tips on how to use language in your recruiting and talent strategy to
encourage more gender inclusivity
4. Participate in the Plus One Pledge by connecting with someone outside your network to offer advice or present a new opportunity
5. Use data to close the gap with LinkedIn Talent Insights - understand your current gender split, benchmark against your industry and identify teams with
higher or lower levels of gender balance

Methodology for collecting data
Insights are generated from the billions of data points created by more than 675+ million members in over 200 countries on LinkedIn today. This analysis includes only members who identify as either “male” or “female” in countries with at least 67% gender coverage. Members who have chosen not to disclose their gender were excluded from this analysis. Network strength is calculated based on a member’s network size and openness. Likelihood to have a “strong network” is calculatedas the percentage of men and women who fall in the top 20% of members by network strength in their country. Each country has different member penetration, engagement and user behaviour, so we have conducted our analysis within each country. This means that whether a member has a strong network is defined relative to its fellow members in the same country and not across different countries. As such, the likelihood for women to have a weaker, less connected network than men in a particular country should not be compared between countries.