Understanding Datapeople's Two Demographic Reports
Demographic data plays a critical role in measuring and improving fairness in your hiring process. Datapeople offers two complementary tools to help you better understand the demographics of your candidate pool: the Demographic Survey Report and the Gender Report. Each provides unique insights—together, they give you a more complete picture.
Why Candidate Self-Reports Matter
Candidate self-reports are the gold standard for demographic data collection. This is because they reflect how individuals identify themselves, which is vital for authentic, respectful, and accurate demographic analysis.
However, demographic data collected through applicant tracking systems (ATSs) can often be sparse. Candidates may choose not to disclose this information, or your ATS may have limitations in collecting it. If only 40% of your candidate pool shares their demographic details, it’s difficult—and risky—to generalize trends from such a limited dataset. Incomplete data can create blind spots that impact reporting and decision-making.
The Role of Datapeople’s Gender Inference Model
To help address these gaps, Datapeople offers a Gender Report, which uses a proprietary gender inference model with 95% accuracy. While this model only infers binary gender (male or female), it can estimate gender distribution across your entire candidate pool—including those who did not submit demographic data—providing directional insight into broader gender trends.
It's important to note that while gender can be inferred with reasonable accuracy, other aspects of diversity such as ethnicity, veteran status, or disability cannot. Because modeling these characteristics reliably is not currently possible, we do not offer an inference-based report for them.
Comparing the Reports
| Feature | Demographic Survey Report | Gender Report |
|---|---|---|
| Data Source | Candidate self-reported data | Inferred using Datapeople’s gender model |
| Scope | Reflects only candidates who filled out your demographic survey | Includes all candidates, regardless of survey participation |
| Accuracy | High (self-reported) | High for binary gender (95%) |
| Use Case | Measure survey response rates, identify data collection gaps, support compliance efforts | Understand gender trends across your full candidate pool |
| Recommendation | Use to guide demographic data collection strategy | Use to fill in gaps and support broader gender analysis |
How These Reports Work Together
The Demographic Survey Report and the Gender Report serve distinct but complementary purposes:
- The Demographic Survey Report gives you visibility into the data that candidates choose to provide. This is essential for ensuring your collection efforts are inclusive and aligned with compliance requirements.
- The Gender Report gives you a bigger-picture view by filling in the gaps where self-reported data is missing. This can be especially useful for global roles or when demographic data collection isn’t required.
When your survey response rate is low, the Demographic Survey Report will prompt you to review the Gender Report. Together, these tools enable a holistic and actionable approach to understanding and improving the diversity of your talent pipeline.