Years ago my aunt told me a story of how she couldn't get a job. In those days employers were allowed to ask whether you were married and how many young children you had. My aunt said that as soon as she revealed that she had multiple small children the interview was over. I don't know if she was trying to get a job in order to escape her husband or if she was simply trying to bring some much needed money into the house. I do know that I am lucky to live in a country which no longer allows these questions to be asked during a job interview or on a job application.

These encounters my aunt had happened before Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed (which prohibits discrimination in the workplace), yet today on job applications and many other applications we still require applicants to list their race and gender. While there may be semi-legitimate reasons for these questions I believe they still have the unjust effect of eliminating minority and female candidates before the interview process has even begun.

As you can see from the attached graph Black Americans still suffer from a disparity in acquiring equal employment to Whites.

Even when it is stated that one does not have to answer these questions it puts the applicant in an awkward position. If they do not answer the questions they can be seen as uncooperative and not a "team player".

Please make it illegal to include these questions on job and similar applications.