Hacker News Reader

Comment by op00to | Hacker News Reader

You are asked to self identify race as a part of US employment. I think it’s important to ask people how they view themselves.

View on HN

But that's to collect statistics for the US Government.

If you as an employer were to take _any_ actions based on that information it would be illegal.

So after you get hired and provide that information for government statistics collection, why would your employer ever need to ask you for it afterwards?

> So after you get hired and provide that information for government statistics collection, why would your employer ever need to ask you for it afterwards?

Because your employer wants to collect statistics too.

That's the point. Why allow them to? They're barred from any action so there's no good purpose served by having them.

They aren't "barred from any action", they can, e.g., publish reports on those statistics - it sounds like you don't even want the questions to be answerable...

Usually in the USA its for employers who want to get in on EEOC things is it actually tracked, otherwise its usually right out.

Hot take: it’s not actually important, and dwelling on our differences decreases human well-being

Answering is optional, isn’t it?

If you refuse to answer your employer must by law give their best guess.

Why? Who cares about this and what's the reason they must care?? Affirmative action? Race "quotas"?? How do you know it will not be used in the exact opposite manner? It's simply better to treat everyone equally (I know, radical notion) and stop this madness.

What's better is largely unknowable if you're not collecting statistics to measure the impact of policy changes.

Really? That’s hilarious!

In theory, yes. In practice Is it really though?

I have declined at least once, never heard anything about it

It sounds racist.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com