"Why is it important to the Daily Wail how the BBC sifts job applicants.."
I suppose it's because the BBC receives some £3bn each year from a compulsory subscription paid by all TV owners regardless of whether they watch the BBC or not. That esteemed organ may believe that its readers might be interested to know how that sum is spent. People unhappy about how the Daily Mail undertakes its recruitment need simply to refrain from buying the newspaper. They don't pay to support the Mail if they buy the Morning Star.
As has been said, this nonsense is not confined to the BBC. I undertake some voluntary work supporting people who undergo, sometimes, quite harrowing ordeals. At the end of our dealings with the client we ask them to complete a survey about how they view the support provided by the organisation. However, more than 50% of the questions are designed to establish exactly the sort of thing this question refers to. e.g. "What is your gender?" "Is that the gender you were assigned at birth?" (their words, not mine). "Are you Gay/Heterosexual/Bisexual/Prefer not to answer?" You get the idea, I'm sure.
It is, we are told, to ensure we are treating all our clients in the same way. When asked how many complaints the organisation had received from people claiming they had not been treated correctly because of their gender/ethnicity/sexual preference etc., nobody knew. But nobody could ever recall receiving such a complaint.
These are "belt and braces" "gold plating" procedures which organisations undertake to show they have a functional diversity policy. The BBC is one of the foremost proponents of such procedures and only this week they published target figures for the number of staff (including actors) they aimed to emply from each of the minorities. It's utter nonsense and it's strangling the life out of the country unnecessarily.