I am not privy to what goes on inside secret meetings of the C suite, but as a tech employee who also owns a side business (non tech) with a couple of partners

I am not privy to what goes on inside secret meetings of the C suite, but as a tech employee who also owns a side business (non tech) with a couple of partners who've run other businesses, protecting yourself from lawsuits is always a concern. My guess is, if you ever find yourself in a casual conversation with someone in HR you will get an affirmative answer as to whether candidates' diversity in their non-necessary attributes (e.g. sex, ethnicity, country of origin, religion) are considered assets to the company beyond their relevance to qualifications to do the job for the sake of EEOC. No, I won't narrow the statement any further, but I will disclose that I work in a major and "politically liberal" metropolitan area in the USA. Granted, it may be less so in areas with a more homogeneous population, but I'd wager there's still even a concern even with regards to ageism.