Your job application says you "welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, 1/25
...age, marital status, or disability" and that you are "committed to diversity and inclusion. The information below is required so that we can monitor the implementation of our equal opportunities policy." 2/25
As it is a part of your job application process, I assume its purpose is to help you to ensure that you are recruiting without unlawfully discriminating under the Equality Act 2010.
Sex is the protected characteristic and the only two possible options for sex are 'Female' and 'Male' as defined in the Act and consistent with biology, but you don't ask for that.
It's not clear why you use the terms for the two sexes when asking about 'gender'.
As female and male are the terms in the Act relating to the protected characteristic of sex, using them for some other question can only be confusing. 10/25
See also: ‘Gender’ is not a protected characteristic, admits EHRC
Intersex is not a 'gender' or 'gender identity' or something that can be 'identified' with. It is generally considered derogatory to those with DSDs to consider them not to be male or female.
Equating 'gender identity' with sex is meaningless and relies on demeaning, regressive stereotypical notions of societal roles for the two sexes, concepts with which I'm sure you would not wish to be associated. 14/25
There is a protected characteristic of 'gender reassignment', but it is defined in the Act in terms different to those you use here and you don't ask about this protected characteristic.
I also note that the EHRC, in their own recruitment equality monitoring, ask for the sex of applicants with options of female and male. This would appear to be a good model to follow. 16/25
Asking about a personal characteristic such as 'gender' that is not a protected characteristic under the Act, may be in breach of the UK GDPR by processing personal - and potentially Special Category - data without a lawful basis. 17/25
The Government provides a list of the personal data an employer may hold about an employee without their permission that you might also find useful. 'Gender' does not appear on that list, but sex does.
The EHRC state that information about a person's 'transgender status' is Special Category personal information under the UK GDPR. Sex is not, so conflating sex and 'gender' as you do may cause issues in processing the information lawfully.
If you choose not to gather data on specific protected characteristics (such as sex), you cannot have the information required to ascertain whether or not you could be discriminating on protected characteristics in recruitment. This could be vital in an employment tribunal 20/25
If you choose to discriminate on characteristics (such as 'gender') that are not protected characteristics under the Act, you may inadvertently indirectly discriminate on protected characteristics. 21/25
You might also like to take note of what employment and discrimination Barrister Akua Reindorf said in her report for the University of Essex and in particular Recommendation 18:
I would also suggest you read this report that highlights the risks and dangers (both reputational and legal) of relying on and processing inaccurate, misleading or downright wrong information about protected characteristics under the Equality Act.
Language and meaning of words are important and proper use & understanding of terms is vital so that the public is aware of what rights they have and what your duties are. Any confusion or inconsistency over meaning may prevent people from accessing their rights in law. 24/25
Will you undertake to correct these errors and to review all your other policies, documents, reports, etc to ensure compliance?
You say "We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability (physical or mental), gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, and sexual orientation." 2/25
Your 'Diversity monitoring form' form says you collect data to help your HR team "understand more clearly who applies for vacancies, and help us to ensure that we are working inclusively." 3/25
The 'Sensitive information' section of your job application says you use the information to monitor "effectiveness of our policies and procedures and how well we meet our legal requirements". 1/23
As it is a part of your job application process, I assume its purpose is to help you to ensure that you are recruiting without unlawfully discriminating under the Equality Act 2010.
The 'Equal Opportunities' section of your job application form says you encourage 'the reporting of data in relation to these protected characteristics'. 1/32
As it is a part of your job application process, I assume its purpose is to help you to ensure that you are recruiting without unlawfully discriminating under the Equality Act 2010.
As it is a part of your job application process, I assume its purpose is to help you to ensure that you are recruiting without unlawfully discriminating under the Equality Act 2010.
The 'Diversity Information' section of your job application form says information provided "will be used for reporting and monitoring purposes only". 1/20
As it is a part of your job application process, I assume its purpose is to help you to ensure that you are recruiting without unlawfully discriminating under the Equality Act 2010.