I am a minority and I find it disgusting. If you want to increase diversity - don’t give internal referrals more weight than external applications. Recruit from a diversity of schools or heck I’m even okay with training programs that help underrepresented groups prepare for tech interviews by targeting schools like HBCUs and local non prestigious schools.

On the other hand, I mentored a female intern last summer. After talking to her, I’m convinced that attractive females in tech have it a lot harder than males. They have to be extra careful to set boundaries and not give off the wrong signals by mistake.