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Sexist Job Posting Calls for Receptionist Duties: ‘Female Candidates Preferred’

‘...female candidates are preferred.’

Tod Perry
By Tod PerryDec 11, 2015
Tod Perry
Tod Perry is a freelance writer from Long Beach, California.
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A Canadian web company just sent the women’s movement back about 40 years with a job posting that would have made even the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertising agency uncomfortable. The job posting is for a content writer/SEO specialist at Vestra Inet in Concord, Ontario, about an hour from Toronto. The posting looks attractive for a person with diverse skills, including writing and consulting on website content, communicating with clients, and updating existing content to improve search engine optimization (SEO). But the final line is the kicker: “Please note that the position requires filling in the responsibilities of a receptionist, so female candidates are preferred.” So, according to Vestra Inet, receptionist responsibilities are best handled by a female.

After word of this post spread, people flocked to LinkedIn to read it and tell Vestra Inet just how they felt. Here are some of the funnier comments:

So far, the company’s only comment on the job post was a tweet that was later deleted: “Vestra Inet did not mean to discriminate against any particular gender or group in our job ad. We believe in promoting diversity.”

(H/T Vox)

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