The American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint Tuesday accusing Facebook of discriminating against women and non-binary people by allowing employers to target men in job advertisements.
The ACLU and the Communications Workers of America labor union, which filed charges against Facebook and 10 other employers, say the ads highlight jobs in already male-dominated fields. Examples obtained by the Washington Post include openings for craftsmen, police officers, and truck drivers —all exclusively targeted toward men. Bobbi Spees, one of three female job-seekers and lead complainants in the case, said in an ACLU statement, “I shouldn’t be shut out of the chance to hear about a job opportunity just because I am a woman.”
Meanwhile, Facebook said Tuesday that it was prepared to defend its practices, telling the Associated Press there is “no place for discrimination” on its platform.
This complaint comes one month after the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development lodged a complaint against Facebook, alleging that the platform’s advertising options violate the Fair Housing Act by allowing landlords to target users based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, nationality, or disability.
