[Rathji]

Giving someone who is in a marginalized group due to race, gender, sexual orientation, etc preference on any single position isn't equal for that specific instance, but it increases equality throughout the entire system for that group.

So Bob and his demographic group of homosexual Hindu might normally be under employed across the nation, but if specific companies give preference to someone in that group, then overall they would be able to achieve a greater equality in the bigger picture.

As for your questions about asking that question at a crown corporation, I suspect that all applications that did not include that information would be treated more or less equivalently to those that did, in respect to the consideration given. Personally, I wouldn't assume as much about a much smaller private company, though.