LinkedIn now allows recruiters to filter candidates by race and gender identity

According to the social network, its objective is to ensure that all its members have equal access to opportunities.

LinkedIn, the business-oriented social network, will allow recruiters to filter candidates according to their demographic information with the intention of "encouraging diversity in hiring."

The business and jobs platform updated its corporate policy and now allows its users to edit their personal information and post details such as their race, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation on their profiles. LinkedIn will also enable the option for companies looking to hire new employees to search by demographic information to find the right employee.

"Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce, and we are working hard to ensure that all members have equal access to these opportunities. One way to make sure people have equal access is to understand the gender, race, ethnicity, and other important demographic information of our members and then to measure whether or not all are being afforded opportunities equitably on our platform," the web portal states.

With this update, the social network can use the personal demographic data of job seekers to allow recruiters to focus their search on gender, race, or sexual orientation, rather than on basic metrics such as the professional trajectory or merits of the candidates. LinkedIn argued that these new features make it easier for recruiters to find "a more diverse group of qualified candidates."

The platform also explained that this update will serve to obtain additional information for statistics and details such as the salary range of a certain sector and professional trends, along with other data that will help with the development of the platform.

According to information posted on its web portal, the change will be beneficial for the personalization of content based on age, gender and other demographic details. However, the platform ensures that this data will not be displayed on the profile or disclosed to third parties without the user's consent.