(Newser)
– Employers who want a balanced demographic of jobseekers may not get it, despite their best efforts. Researchers have found that Facebook often displays job ads based on gender that already dominate that position or industry. The findings suggest that bias remains in the site’s algorithms, Wall Street Journal reports. During a monitoring period at the end of last year, Facebook disproportionately displayed men for Domino’s Pizza delivery drivers, while women saw advertisements for food buyers for Instacart. The finding took place for jobs of different skill levels, including highly technical ones. This indicates “a platform whose algorithm learns and perpetuates the difference in employee demographics,” wrote researchers at the University of Southern California. Facebook said on Friday it was taking action against advertising bias.
“It’s not about the user saying, ‘Oh, I’m interested in that.’ Facebook has decided on behalf of the user whether it is likely to engage, “said Aleksandra Korolova, the study’s author.” And just because historically a certain group wasn’t interested in engaging in something, should have the opportunity to pursue it, especially in the job category. ”The practice could risk violating anti-discrimination laws, according to the AP. The federal government has said that classes protected by people should not be disadvantaged by the way The study found no evidence that ads are distorted on LinkedIn.The company said it was aggressive with its findings, although it is still concerned about the issue.Korolova said LinkedIn could be better at blocking prejudice or Facebook could be better at recognizing user cues and perpetuating gender imbalances. (Read more gender bias stories.)