4 ms·

Why ask for gender but not race/ethnicity?

• chronic6h2 9y ago
  Because there are more females than Hispanics/Blacks (that complain, at least).
• chronic62a 9y ago
  > Why ask for gender but not race/ethnicity? Out of everyone who complains, there are more females complaining than Hispanics/Blacks.
• keerthiko 9y ago
  This is an excellent question. If I were running the applications I might have done the same (ask gender but not race/ethnicity), because gender just feels more generally okay to ask. But if the purpose of asking is for nothing more than stats recording, then why not ask ethnicity as well? I think it lies in that people fear being biased against for reporting their ethnicity, either via affirmative action (white/asian) or racism (everyone else).
  • ringaroundthetx 9y ago
    > I think it lies in that people fear being biased against for reporting their ethnicity, either via affirmative action (white/asian) or racism (everyone else). Hm, two flaws about that dichotomy: 1) Many people that aren't white or asian also feel that affirmative action is a bias against their actual ability to contribute to society. For example, not everyone would see getting into YC as a monumental achievement, but even if they did the idea that it would be belittled because of a perception that their skin tone filled a quote is the same being biased against. 2) Many people call this racism as well. In this context, it would primarily be a reference to an institutionalized circumstance.