The original process the OP describes is exactly what many affirmative action opponents think AA does, that is only consider one demographic and ignore all the others.
If you want to open opportunities for women, you post the job notice in places where women will see it. That will get you qualified candidates, and if you find a women who is the best person for the job, you hire her.
Look for a woman's organization (things like The Society of Women Engineers for engineering jobs, student groups that cater to women, perhaps in a hall were sorority members hang out, etc).
Wow, so easy! Why do we worry about these things when every case is so cut and dried?
Because it's not. What if it's between two applicants, a male and a female, who are more or less equally qualified? Also, in case you haven't realized, there isn't an abundance of graphic designers looking for work in predominantly female areas. It's actually rather difficult to hire a good graphic designer who's not looking to telecommute, regardless of gender, much less hire one with specific skill tendencies.
You'll note the word "easy" appears nowhere in my post. And of course I have no experience whatsoever in experiencing/dealing with under-representation, so I clearly have no idea of any of the issues involved.
> you post the job notice in places where women fill see it. That will get you qualified candidates,
You can't just post there, however. You have to include that as part of the places you'll post. Just posting to those places would mean you are getting a qualified candidate, but not necessarily the best one.
If you want to open opportunities for women, you post the job notice in places where women will see it. That will get you qualified candidates, and if you find a women who is the best person for the job, you hire her.
edit: spelling