Internship Application Asks Candidates To Mark Their Sexual Orientation, Sparks Debate

An internship application has sparked widespread controversy online after asking candidates to disclose their sexual orientation. The individual, who identified as a cisgender male, expressed frustration, suggesting that diversity policies would unfairly disadvantage him in the hiring process. He shared a screenshot of the application that requested information on race, gender, sexual orientation, and preferred pronouns. In response, the candidate in question replied ''Straight/Heterosexual.'' He also marked ''White'' for the question on race and indicated his pronouns were ''He/him.''

''Going to assume I will not land this internship,'' he wrote while sharing a picture of the application.

See the post here:

The incident has ignited a heated debate, with several users questioning the legitimacy of inquiring about sexual orientation in a job application. While some argued that such questions may be discriminatory and potentially illegal, others saw them as a means to promote diversity and inclusion.

One user wrote, ''I haven't had to apply for a job in a long time. Is it normal to ask sexual orientation? Is it even legal?''

Another commented, ''I can't believe there's now a race/gender/sexuality question on every resume.''

One individual clarified that such questions are legal and serve the purpose of collecting data for diversity statistics, rather than influencing hiring decisions. He wrote, ''It's legal and very normal. Pretty sure most recruitment teams won't even see this. It's just to give some statistics on applicants later on.''

A fourth person added, ''People assume this is for 'diversity hiring,' but 9 times out of 10, it's bigoted employees who prefer cisgender, heterosexual men.'' A fifth said, ''From what I've heard, using trans options makes you less likely to get a job as they tend to complain or cause issues with other staff.