‘What Is Your Sexual Orientation?’ Controversial Job Application Question Triggers Online Debate

While educational and professional qualifications help understand the employer whether the candidate is a good fit for the job, one might wonder about the purpose of knowing the candidate’s sexual orientation. An internship application asking about a candidate’s “sexual orientation” has left the internet puzzled.

A user shared a screenshot of an internship application that not only asks for applicants’ “sexual orientation” but also their race and gender identity. The post has received nearly 3 million views and sparked reactions from hundreds. Posting a picture of the bizarre questions, he wrote as caption, “Going to assume I will not land this internship,”

One user commented, “I haven’t had to apply to a job in a long time. Is it normal to ask about sexual orientation? Is it even legal?”

Another user advised, “Just lie, they can’t legally question you.”

A user exclaimed, “I can’t believe there’s now a race/gender/sexuality question on every resume.”

Another person joked about the criteria and added, “Where do they draw the line? I honestly want to know because if a grown man can be a pansexual Siberian wolf. I want to be a Boeing 747.”

On the other hand, a section of users also shared that asking such questions is common in many workplaces. One said, “You have to put this information for literally every job in America.”

Another commented, “Why are the comments crying, this is asked in every application, for decades. Sometimes it’s mandatory, sometimes it isn’t . You can select prefer not to answer.”

Amidst several reactions, many users highlighted that not only do sexual orientation and race have any impact on job performance or eligibility for selection but such questions can inadvertently lead to increased discrimination in the selection process.