[teraflop]

This is extremely normal in the US. Employers (above a certain size threshold) are required to ask these questions, and to report aggregated statistics to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on an annual basis.

But employees/candidates are not themselves required to answer the questions. And if they do, employers are forbidden from using the information for discriminatory purposes.

(Realistically, if somebody is intent on discriminating based on race/sex/etc., they're going to do it based on the candidate's self-presentation, regardless of how they answer the questionnaire.)

[JumpCrisscross]

Orientation and gender identity are new to me, though it’s been a minute since I applied for a job.

[kodyo]

Shit's getting weird, man.

[JumpCrisscross]

I could see it having a place on an intake form. But on a job application? Is it so they can schedule interviews based on your race and gender identity?

[rrrrrrrrrrrryan]

I can only speak from personal experience, but whenever I've hired folks, that information was only shared with HR.

Requiring companies to collect these statistics helps add hard data to any future lawsuits. It can provide an insight into whether or not members of protected classes have been systematically discriminated against during certain phases of the hiring process.