In academia, hiring practices have constrained the entry of individuals from historically excluded groups — in particular, of people with disabilities and of people who identify as LGBTQ+, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaskan Native. This has hindered the societal impact of research and the ability to educate students about equity. Although many university departments have committed to ‘do better’, a new mindset ought to be embraced to gain the skills necessary to rectify injustices stemming from faculty-hiring processes. In this Comment, we offer a faculty-hiring roadmap for eliminating many of the barriers of entry to members of historically excluded groups. The examples and context are from topical areas in biomedical engineering, yet the roadmap can be adapted and used more broadly. We call on university departments to recognize the failings of current hiring practices and to adopt equitable guidelines for diversifying their faculty. A diverse faculty across academic centres will collectively boost science and innovation.