5 ms·

Is is legal to specify gender in a job ad?

greenyoda 13y ago
Depends on the laws of the specific country; this job seems to be located in India. It also depends on the requirements of the job. If the job was to model women's clothing or to play a male role in a film, it would probably be legal in the U.S. For the job being advertised, it would probably be illegal in the U.S.
- tzs 13y ago
  The argument for allowing it would be that for a dating app aimed at arranging heterosexual dates to be successful, it has to attract both male and female customers. Attracting males to dating sites is generally not a problem, but attracting females can be difficult. Having a female co-founder will make it easier to convince women that the app was designed with the dating needs of women in mind, and won't be just another place to get fixed up with creepy men. It would still probably be a hard argument to make with the EEOC. I could see it going either way. I wonder if it makes a difference that this is for a co-founder position. Doesn't that imply that the company has not yet formed? If so, do anti-discrimination employment laws even apply?
  - greenyoda 13y ago
    "I wonder if it makes a difference that this is for a co-founder position." The ad says "This is a full-time paid position", which makes it sound more like an employee position than an actual co-founder.
    - TheRealmccoy 13y ago
      "Full-time paid position" was advertised as many times people say/advertise that co-founder would receive substantial equity but would have to work without any financial remuneration for some time. It is not like this here. You might be a co-founer but equity in a startup would not pay your bills, right?
      - tptacek 13y ago
        Can you fire the co-founder? Can the co-founder choose exactly what they're working on, or do they take direction from someone else?
  - TheRealmccoy 13y ago
    Thank you very much, that aptly sums up my position on this. We already have a registered entitiy/company. I have failed in 2 ventures in past 3 years and 9 months of my entreprenurial journey.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    For a genuine cofounder position, I don't believe anti-discrimination laws apply; the members or directors of a company don't have an employer-employee relationship. I've talked to people (read: lawyers, but casually) about this and haven't really gotten a clear answer. I'm similarly interested in whether anti-discrimination laws apply to venture capital investment, given that it's clearly not unlawful for me to opt out of investing in the stocks of e.g. companies with female CEOs.
TheRealmccoy 13y ago
Hi ! I do not think it is illegal in my country, but I do not think it is ethical to do so, unless it warrants so. Unless Iunderstand a woman's point of view and thoughts regarding dating and meeting people, this stuff would not move an iota. So I need only a woman co-founder. Of all the innumerable dating apps in this world, probably only 1 or 2 would have a woman founder/ co-founder and that is the reason why you see all the apps men-centric.

Depends on the laws of the specific country; this job seems to be located in India. It also depends on the requirements of the job. If the job was to model women's clothing or to play a male role in a film, it would probably be legal in the U.S. For the job being advertised, it would probably be illegal in the U.S.

tzs 13y ago
The argument for allowing it would be that for a dating app aimed at arranging heterosexual dates to be successful, it has to attract both male and female customers. Attracting males to dating sites is generally not a problem, but attracting females can be difficult. Having a female co-founder will make it easier to convince women that the app was designed with the dating needs of women in mind, and won't be just another place to get fixed up with creepy men. It would still probably be a hard argument to make with the EEOC. I could see it going either way. I wonder if it makes a difference that this is for a co-founder position. Doesn't that imply that the company has not yet formed? If so, do anti-discrimination employment laws even apply?
- greenyoda 13y ago
  "I wonder if it makes a difference that this is for a co-founder position." The ad says "This is a full-time paid position", which makes it sound more like an employee position than an actual co-founder.
  - TheRealmccoy 13y ago
    "Full-time paid position" was advertised as many times people say/advertise that co-founder would receive substantial equity but would have to work without any financial remuneration for some time. It is not like this here. You might be a co-founer but equity in a startup would not pay your bills, right?
    - tptacek 13y ago
      Can you fire the co-founder? Can the co-founder choose exactly what they're working on, or do they take direction from someone else?
- TheRealmccoy 13y ago
  Thank you very much, that aptly sums up my position on this. We already have a registered entitiy/company. I have failed in 2 ventures in past 3 years and 9 months of my entreprenurial journey.
- tptacek 13y ago
  For a genuine cofounder position, I don't believe anti-discrimination laws apply; the members or directors of a company don't have an employer-employee relationship. I've talked to people (read: lawyers, but casually) about this and haven't really gotten a clear answer. I'm similarly interested in whether anti-discrimination laws apply to venture capital investment, given that it's clearly not unlawful for me to opt out of investing in the stocks of e.g. companies with female CEOs.

TheRealmccoy 13y ago

Hi ! I do not think it is illegal in my country, but I do not think it is ethical to do so, unless it warrants so. Unless Iunderstand a woman's point of view and thoughts regarding dating and meeting people, this stuff would not move an iota. So I need only a woman co-founder. Of all the innumerable dating apps in this world, probably only 1 or 2 would have a woman founder/ co-founder and that is the reason why you see all the apps men-centric.