Facebook’s Job Algorithm Shows Listings Based On Gender, Study Claims
Image via Chinnapong / Shutterstock.com
More than two years ago, Facebook disallowed advertisers from targeting specific ages or gender in employment and housing listings. However, a new study shows that the social network’s algorithm could still be discriminating by gender when it comes to employment advertisements.
Researchers at the University of Southern California found that certain job listings still showed a noticeable, quantifiable skew in users who saw them, which would be illegal under federal employment discrimination law in the US. Under the law, employment discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race and gender.
While previous studies have reached the same conclusion, the USC study used a different methodology. The researchers created job listings for roles that exhibit real-life gender demographic skews despite no difference in qualifications. For example, Domino’s Pizza delivery drivers are overwhelmingly male, while Instacart grocery deliverers are predominantly female.
When researchers created job listings for Domino’s drivers and Instacart shoppers, the former were largely delivered to men and the latter to women by Facebook’s advertising algorithm. This held true even for jobs such as software engineers and retail sales associates that are supposedly gender-neutral positions.
Researchers noted, however, that the gender discrimination did not happen when using the same methodology with LinkedIn’s listing service. You can read the study in full here.
A Facebook spokesperson told Mashable that the company understood “the concerns raised in the report.”
“We’ve taken meaningful steps to address issues of discrimination in ads and have teams working on ads fairness,” the Facebook representative added.
[via Mashable, cover image via Chinnapong / Shutterstock.com]
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