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Two weeks ago, Vestra Inet, a Toronto-based web design company, posted a job application via its LinkedIn page, which has offended men and women everywhere. The company posted a job opening, offering a full-time Content Writer and SEO specialist position.
And yes, although it may seem like a normal and plausible occupation, the last sentence of the post was horrendously offensive.
The line reads that the prospective employee will also fill in the role of a receptionist (which is fair enough), but goes on to say that:
"Please note that the Position requires filling in the responsibilities of a receptionist, so female candidates are preferred."
Yes, Vestra Inet went back to the 1950s, Mad Men-style and suggested that women, and only women, are able to be receptionists.
Unfortunately, there are some countries, such as India and Dubai who offer certain positions exclusively to either sex, but the state of Ontario, Canada forbids this kind of sexist conduct.
According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, any company situated in that province is prohibited to discriminate in any working environment and it specifically mentions job advertisements.
The technological field is predominantly led and run by men, and although allowing more women is recommended, only allowing them because the job description involves receptionist duties is utterly ridiculous.
According to Refinery29, the company has taken down the posting and are taking no more applications for this position. And since many slandered the web company on social media, Vestra Inet issued an apology, without an actual apology:
Still not apologising:
Nevertheless, the damage had been done and many have been using the hashtag #VestraInet to illustrate the seriousness of this job sexism.
Here are some tweets regarding their job advertisement:
