Degree requirements are holding back company profits and a roaring economy, experts say

The workforce has experienced significant shifts in recent years, both during and after the pandemic. As business challenges grow more complex and technology takes center stage, how can we create opportunities for untapped talent and prepare employees for the future? Where are the greatest opportunities to evaluate pipelines and hire based on a full range of skills and capabilities rather than past credentials or background? (Credit: Stuart Isett/Fortune)

A job listing that requires a bachelor’s degree immediately eliminates 62% of American adults. It also boxes out 70% of Black Americans and 80% of Hispanic Americans. Suffice it to say, diversity of thought and background is “not going to happen” so long as a college degree requirement is included on the list of must-haves. That’s according to Carrie Varoquiers, the chief philanthropy officer at SaaS company Workday. 

Varoquiers appeared alongside Lisa Gevelber, a VP at Google and founder of Grow With Google, and LaFawn Davis, chief people and sustainability officer at Indeed, on a panel centered on skills-based hiring at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in California on Tuesday.