LinkedIn drops ad giving preference to black and indigenous candidates

The social network focused on work LinkedIn excluded the publication of a vacancy that gave priority, in the selection, to black and indigenous people. The position was opened by Laut (Center for the Analysis of Freedom and Authoritarianism) and sought to hire someone to coordinate the administrative and financial sector.

LinkedIn says its job posting policies don’t allow jobs that exclude or show a preference for professionals. The restriction applies, according to the company, to any type of characteristics, whether age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

The announcement made by the research center described who would have priority in the selection: “as part of Laut’s affirmative actions to value the plurality of the team, this selection process gives preference to black people (black and brown) and indigenous people.”

In addition, it brought information typical of a job posting: the workload of 20 hours per week and the expectation that the hired professional would manage the entity’s financial, administrative and personnel routines.

Days after it was published, the ad was taken off the air. The site’s support said the post had been taken down as it was considered discriminatory. The social network employee did not detail what was considered discriminatory, but for Laut, there is no doubt that the target was the preference for black and indigenous people.

LinkedIn states that its policies are detailed, transparent and applied to all users of the platform around the world, and that it starts from the understanding that people with the same talents should have access to the same opportunities.

“”We understand that in some countries, such as Brazil, the legislation allows employers to apply these criteria in their selection processes. We regularly review our policies to ensure that we support the diversity and inclusion of candidates on LinkedIn and, consequently, in the job market.

Laut researcher Conrado Hübner Mendes, columnist for sheet, says that the anti-discrimination established by LinkedIn in its policies is positive. However, he considers the interpretation of the rule in relation to the preference for black and indigenous candidates to be absurd.

“Brazil has an accumulation of public policies to expand affirmative action, with quotas in universities, quotas in parties, quotas in companies. It was a subject that aroused intense legal debates, but there was a stabilization that this type of action is not compatible with desirable”, says Hübner, who is a professor of law at the University of São Paulo.

The researcher argues that prioritization of groups in selections for vacancies through so-called affirmative actions seeks to improve the access of those who ended up excluded from these processes.

He recalls the case of the trainee program opened by the Magazine Luiza network in 2020, for which only black women and men were selected.

The announcement generated heated reactions for and against the initiative. At the time, even labor judges came out to criticize the network’s decision, which they considered discriminatory, for giving exclusivity to black candidates.

After the retail chain, other companies launched similar selection programs, with vacancies reserved for black candidates or exclusive selections. THE sheet organizes, this year, the second edition for training aimed at black professionals. The first was in 2021.

Earlier this year, screenwriter and podcaster Deia Nunes, from Não Inviabilize, was the target of a wave of attacks through Twitter after she announced a job vacancy for which she would select only black, brown and indigenous women.