You bring your authentic self to your classes and clubs. It’s just as important to be able to do so in the workplace as well. That’s why Handshake makes it easy for you to express important aspects of your identity on your profile.
In August 2020, we launched the option for students to self-report their gender identity and pronouns. A year later, we’ve now launched the ability for you to self-identify your race and ethnicity on the platform, however you define yourself—whether that’s belonging to multiple racial and/or ethnic groups, or as an identity you provide for yourself.
Handshake’s mission is to promote both equitable recruiting and workforce. But we know there’s so much more to you than just your background. That’s why your skills and qualifications will always be the most important factor that employers look for when they are hiring students like you on Handshake.
Why self-identify your race and ethnicity on Handshake?
When you choose to identify your race and ethnicity on Handshake, it allows employers to layer on this information to their search criteria. By adding this info to your profile, you can receive invites to apply to jobs, connect with recruiters, or attend virtual events based on how the employer is engaging underrepresented talent. Ultimately, by allowing you to choose how they are represented in our product we’re trying to make the experience for you more personalized. At the same time, we’re trying to help employers make their hiring practices more equitable.
Ultimately it’s 100% your decision whether to add your race and ethnicity to your profile
Consent and privacy are of the utmost importance. At no time will an employer be able to see the race and/or ethnicity of you or any individual student—all race, ethnicity, and gender data is aggregated and anonymized.
How to add race and ethnicity on Handshake
On Handshake, you can select multiple racial and ethnic groups, as well as enter in your own custom responses. You’ll find this option when you first sign up, or if you already have an account, you can update your profile.
Adding your race and ethnicity is a personal choice. By launching this feature, we are giving each and every student the opportunity to show up authentically in the ways they’re comfortable on Handshake.