If you choose to provide your personal demographic information, it may be used:
- For research and development: To review our products and conduct other research with the goal of removing unfair bias from our products and introducing new product features that help us achieve our vision. An example of this would be ensuring that our search results are fair and representative. We may, on occasion, reach out to members to invite them to participate in user research, because they are a member of a particular demographic group. You can opt-out of research invites.
- For aggregate insights for our members and customers: We will combine your data with other members’ information to provide aggregate insights such as salary ranges, industry statistics, and career trends for purposes such as assessing and improving pay equality. We will also provide aggregate insights to help employers and hiring managers in their efforts to identify more diverse candidates. For example, LinkedIn may provide aggregate insights to help companies understand the diversity of candidates engaging with job posts or appearing in candidate searches. Your specific demographic information such as your gender and race will not be disclosed to companies in any of these features.
- For aggregate insights to deliver data on global workforce trends, to measure and improve equality: We will provide insights in our monthly LinkedIn Workforce Report Labor market report, and share insights on what actions members can take for greater equality of opportunity.
- For personalized content: LinkedIn may use your personal demographic information to personalize content and recommendations. This may include us sending you emails and other communications about LinkedIn content, products, or offers unless you opt-out. LinkedIn uses age and gender categories (male or female only) that we may infer or that you may provide us to show you more relevant advertising, subject to your settings. We don’t allow ad targeting based on race/ethnicity, disability status, or other sensitive characteristics. Learn more about how LinkedIn may infer your age and gender based on information in your profile.
- For diversity in recruiting: LinkedIn may use your personal demographic information in recruiting features to surface qualified members that may diversify the group of candidates displayed to recruiters. This would include your profile among those shown to recruiters from companies that have made public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Your answers to these personal demographic questions are never directly shared with recruiters or companies. Our hiring products do not have filters that enable our customers to filter out candidates on the basis of sensitive or protected categories of personal demographic data (including race/ethnicity, gender, having a disability, sexual orientation or transgender status). You can opt out of this use of your personal demographic information in your settings.
Your personal demographic information won’t be shown on your profile or disclosed to others on LinkedIn. LinkedIn uses demographic data that you provide via the Self-ID form to correct any binary gender inferences we may have made. When you share demographic information on Self-ID through the free text boxes, LinkedIn may put the information you share into broader categories. For example, if you enter “Straight,” we may put you into the category “Heterosexual”, “Cis Woman” into the “Female” category, and “Korean” to the “East Asian” category. If you would like to learn how your free text entry may be categorized, please contact us.