As companies enter a fierce war for talent, they have one simple tactic at their disposal that could help unlock vast pools of potential talent: eliminate the degree requirement for open jobs.

In the years prior to the pandemic, blue-chip companies like Apple, Google, IBM and Bank of America turned heads with announcements that they would no longer require applicants for certain jobs to hold a degree, including for such posts as senior manager of finance.

But a few years after their announcements, these companies are mainly still notable for being the exceptions to the rule in a sea of employer degree requirements that have held back students, society and the companies themselves. Despite the headlines, the college-degree stranglehold had actually been growing in recent years.