The American Civil Liberties Union filed charges against Facebook and 10 employers for gender discrimination claiming job ads on Facebook target male users but exclude female users.

Charges were filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of three female workers and ultimately seeks to represent a class of millions of women allegedly denied information on job opportunities.

The charges claim Facebook delivers job ads selectively based on age and sex categories that employers choose, and that Facebook earns revenue from placing job ads that exclude women and older workers.

“I’ve heard stories about when people looked for jobs in the classified ads and big bold letters read ‘help wanted-male’ or ‘help wanted-female.’ I was shocked to find that this discrimination is still happening, just online instead of in newspapers,” said Bobbi Spees, a job-seeker and lead complainant in the case.  “I shouldn’t be shut out of the chance to hear about a job opportunity just because I am a woman.”

Joining in the ACLU’s filing of charges were the Communications Workers of America and law firm Outten & Golden LLP.

“There is no place for discrimination on Facebook; it’s strictly prohibited in our policies, and over the past year, we’ve strengthened our systems to further protect against misuse,” said Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne. “We are reviewing the complaint and look forward to defending our practices.” 

The employer and employment agency advertisers named in the EEOC charges are:

• Abas USA, a global software developer
• Defenders, an installer of home security systems
• Nebraska Furniture Mart, a home furniture retailer
• City of Greensboro, NC Police Department 
• Need Work Today, an employment agency that procures workers for farm, construction, trucking and aviation employers
• Renewal by Andersen LLC, a window replacement and installation company
• Rice Tire, a tire retailer and provider of auto repair services with locations throughout Maryland and Virginia
• JK Moving Services, an independent moving company
• Enhanced Roofing & Modeling, a roofing and remodeling company based in the Washington, DC, metro area
• Xenith, an athletics equipment manufacturer and retailer