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– Employers who want a demographically balanced pool of applicants may not get it, despite their best efforts. Facebook often shows job openings for the gender that already dominates that position or industry, researchers have discovered. The findings suggest that bias remains in the site’s algorithms, the Wall Street Journal reports. During a monitoring period towards the end of last year, Facebook disproportionately showed ads for men for Domino’s Pizza delivery people, while women saw ads for grocery store visitors for Instacart. The finding held true for jobs of various skill levels, including highly technical. That indicates “a platform whose algorithm learns and perpetuates the existing difference in employee demographics,” wrote the University of Southern California researchers. Facebook said Friday it is taking steps against ad bias.
“It’s not like the user is saying, ‘Oh, I’m interested in this.’ Facebook has decided on behalf of the user whether they are likely to participate, ”said Aleksandra Korolova, the author of the study. “And just because a particular group hasn’t historically been interested in something, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the opportunity to pursue it, especially in the job category.” According to the AP, the practice would run the risk of violating anti-discrimination laws. The federal government has said that protected groups of people should not be disadvantaged by the way advertisements are presented. The study found no evidence that ads are skewed on LinkedIn. The company said agres with its findings, although it is still concerned about the problem. Korolova said LinkedIn may be better at blocking bias, or Facebook may be better at recognizing user signals and perpetuating gender inequality. (Read more stories about gender bias.)