EEO questions are a special type of demographic questions used exclusively in the United States. These questions help companies comply with federal regulations and collect statistical data. All responses are sensitive and cannot be used in hiring decisions. Here’s what you need to know:

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What is EEO and OFCCP?

Large companies in the US need to prove they’re not discriminating when hiring. They collect statistical data for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). For federal contractors and subcontractors, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has additional reporting obligations.

Here are typical EEO/OFCCP questions:

  • What is your gender? (Male, Female, I choose not to disclose)
  • What is your race/ethnicity? (White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, …)
  • Are you a protected veteran? (Yes, No, I don’t wish to answer)
  • Do you have a disability? (Yes, No, I don’t wish to answer)

When getting jobs from Kombo, you can identify these questions by checking if the category is "EEO".

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What is not EEO?

While EEO questions are specifically for US regulatory compliance, some companies collect additional demographic/diversity information to gain deeper insights into their applicant pool. Though these questions may resemble EEO questions, they differ significantly as EEO requirements follow strict regulatory guidelines.

Here are typical demographic questions:

  • How would you describe your gender identity?
  • How would you describe your sexual orientation?
  • …

When getting jobs from Kombo, you can identify these questions by checking if the category is "DEMOGRAPHIC".

Greenhouse: Both demographic and EEO questions can be enabled separately.

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Tools

Many ATS handle EEO data collection differently. Here are the common approaches:

  • Dedicated EEO feature: These ATS include a global setting to enable EEO/demographic questions. They determine if the organization is a government contractor to configure the appropriate OFCCP questions. Applicants receive a standardized set of questions with required legal disclaimers and compliance text.

    Ashby: A dedicated EEO feature with pre-written legal texts.

  • Via email after the initial application: Instead of collecting responses during the initial application, the system sends applicants a follow-up email with the EEO questions.

    Recruitee: Applicants not using the application form directly will receive an email the next day.

  • Generic questions: Some ATS have no dedicated EEO feature. Instead, they use other features like marking normal questions as sensitive/confidential so that hiring managers cannot see the answers.

    For these ATS we are unable to automatically detect which questions are EEO-related. As a result, all questions will have a category of null.

    SAP SuccessFactors: There is no dedicated EEO feature. So the EEO questions are found somewhere else...

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Setup

To implement EEO questions, follow these steps. The process is exactly the same as regular screening questions — you can however customize it by looking at the category of a question.

{
  "screening_questions": [
    {
      "id": "2rohQtBSjscDVBttkqMx3ji9",
      "remote_id": "k_survey_info:FZRFVBch2JxVquT8eYA4Mo1h",
      "title": "",
      "description": "<p><strong>SELF-IDENTIFICATION OF VETERAN STATUS </strong> (Completion is voluntary and will not subject you to adverse treatment)</p> [...]</li></ul>",
      "format": {
        "type": "INFORMATION"
      },
      "category": "EEO",
      "index": 8,
      "required": false,
      "precondition_question_id": null,
      "precondition_options": null
    },
    {
      "id": "APca7spVWAvy7SXpaojjkQUs",
      "remote_id": "f5a325c7-7f92-475d-8146-88cea860ad02",
      "title": "Veteran Status",
      "description": null,
      "format": {
        "display_type": "RADIO",
        "options": [
          {
            "id": "6gf8f9n749a3hDABotKqSZMb",
            "remote_id": "protected_veteran",
            "name": "I identify as one or more of the classifications of protected veteran listed above"
          },
          {
            "id": "EQ6bFJeiWsFJ5heHBXENXuRa",
            "remote_id": "non_protected_veteran",
            "name": "I am not a protected veteran"
          },
          {
            "id": "G1m7orKqwb4wf6jj8CqYjv9D",
            "remote_id": "decline_to_self_identify",
            "name": "I decline to self-identify for protected veteran status"
          }
        ],
        "type": "SINGLE_SELECT"
      },
      "category": "EEO",
      "index": 9,
      "required": false,
      "precondition_question_id": null,
      "precondition_options": null
    }
  ]
}
1

Get questions

When reading jobs, you’ll receive a list of questions. Look for questions where category is set to "EEO" or "DEMOGRAPHIC". For more details on handling questions, refer to the implementation guide for screening questions.

2

Display questions

Display the questions to the applicant, ensuring you follow these guidelines:

Please ensure that the text of all legal disclaimers is displayed. You must show the description field in two contexts:

  1. Below form inputs (single-select, multi-select, etc.)
  2. As standalone information blocks for "type": "INFORMATION"
3

Submit answers

When submitting an application, include the answers to the EEO/demographic questions. For more information on creating applications, see the implementation guide on creating applications.

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FAQ

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Can EEO & diversity questions be enabled at the same time?

Yes, this is possible. For example, in Greenhouse you can enable both EEO & demographic questions simultaneously. They will appear in the same array of questions but with different category values ("EEO" vs "DEMOGRAPHIC").

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How do I know if a question is EEO-related?

When getting jobs from Kombo, check the category field of each question:

  • "EEO" indicates an EEO/OFCCP compliance question
  • "DEMOGRAPHIC" indicates a general diversity/demographic question
  • null is the default and likely means a screening question

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Are EEO questions required?

The actual questions are typically marked as optional for applicants. However, you should always display these questions when they are present in the job data as organizations are dependent on collecting enough responses.

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Do I only need to display the questions to people in the US?

No action is required on your part.

The ATS (or Kombo) will automatically determine whether EEO questions should be shown, based on the job’s location. EEO questions are typically only displayed for jobs located in the United States, and will only be returned via the API when relevant.

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What tools are supported?

You can find a detailed overview of supported ATS platforms in the ATS coverage grid on your dashboard. This grid also provides information about how each ATS handles EEO questions (for example, whether they are collected via email or directly in the initial application).

If you need support for an additional ATS, please contact us to request coverage.