Stop me if you've heard this one

[ruana1]

Soooo... job application. Equal opportunities monitoring section. Sexual orientation, and the options are

Comments

[meridian_rose]

I've seen a lot of this type recently, but one form I filled out had an 'other: please specify' line like every other section of the monitoring form :)

[inamac]

It's only recently that bisexuality has become an option (it used to be lumped in with 'Other').

The equal opportunities website defines Sexuality as Sexuality refers to a person’s sexual orientation - whether they are attracted to men or women.

So obviously this definition excludes asexuals who are attracted to neither.

[swankivy]

I was surprised once when an option to check "other" on a survey rerouted me to an extra page where it said "You checked 'other,' please specify." (An electronic survey, obviously.) I was pleased by that. I think "prefer not to say" is what I would have otherwise checked, but the thing is . . . I totally do prefer to say. . . .

[singinglupines]

Haha, my same thoughts exactly!

[jenblue]

They're likely ignorant rather than being intentionally exclusionist. If whomever's involved with writing a form hasn't come across something that doesn't fit into a set of categories, it might not even occur to them to include an 'other' sort of write-in option.

Clearly, the answer here is to educate them. Introduce them to the concept of other valid orientations and suggest a broadening of their list or a write-in option.

(Gender lists on forms that have only M/F options also make me sad.)

[camilleyun]

I will never understand why any employer needs to know any of this.

I'm not a guarded person but the workplace is a whole other story. I've always felt uncomfortable with people's reactions to the fact that I don't have children. When I lived in bigger cities and was younger it wasn't that much of a deal but now that I'm older and live in a smaller city it's a big deal.

[ruana1]

Yeah, pretty much this.