Recruitment agencies asking ‘diversity’ questions for clients.

Recruitment agencies asking ‘diversity’ questions for clients.

I’ve been asked by 2 recruitment agencies recently to answer a number of ‘diversity questions’ when putting my cv forward for jobs.

Questions including - Are you married? How old are you? Now call me a cynic – but I don’t believe for one second that the clients aren’t then using this information to make inform their decision making. i.e. I don’t believe that if you’re a 29 year old married woman moving out of consulting into industry they aren’t going to suspect you are changing your lifestyle for a reason.

I assume you can refuse to answer these ‘diversity’ questions – but surely that’s going to make them even more suspicious if you?

Has anyone else had this and refused to answer the questions?

Also – why do they think they have the right to ask such probing questions about the exact breakdown of your current salary and then make you feel like you’re being really rude if you say ‘I’d prefer not to answer that’

Rant over…

All recruitment agencies are our friends on this forum.....so we won't hear a bad word against them (in case they don't return our calls).

But I hear what you're saying

Interesting. A new way to overcomplicate things. My understanding was that we're now not allowed to ask people what age they are, since the law changed a few years ago.

This would seem like a way to discriminate in the guise of anti-discrimination. Can't think why anyone would have to, or want to, answer.

Interestingly I was recently asked those questions aswell - now feel very naive for just giving straight answers even though I probably knew it was a bit dodgy.

Dodgy indeed. I would have simply answered the question (but not correctly - would have said kids=0 and age=myage-3.