[anaisbetts]

Yep, I have to agree. Candidates (rightly!) are upset when they are explicitly considered the "token" hire and avoid these roles - some companies even have the gall to put this in their job listing!

The real solution to diverse hiring is to actively recruit from sources that have the kind of people you're looking for. Your (not you parent comment, but the anonymous "you") current candidate sources are probably not very diverse so the end result is that your hiring is mirroring that.

Actively recruit and go after diverse candidate sources, and you'll hire diverse candidates.