Spanish woman's job application rejected 'because she was not a man'

A Spanish woman saw her job application rejected, allegedly on the grounds she was not a man, and has since shamed the company online.

PR agency Impulsa Comunicación, which worked with the likes of Coca-Cola and other major firms, told Carla Forcada the account executive role she applied for was not suited for her as it "needed a man who could handle the pace of working with big companies".

The 25-year-old took to Twitter to express her disbelief at the reason for her rejection and shared a screenshot of the message, captioning it: "Believe me, they need a man."

On a Twitter post, she wrote (in Spanish) that it was "incredible that companies that practice gender-based discrimination in the workplace still exist".

She told La Vanguardia newspaper that she felt "insulted as she could do the job as well as any man".

The Barcelona-based woman, who studied marketing and communication, added she then received an email offering her a job opportunity but believes it was because "someone in the company knew her".

Impulsa Comunicación has defended itself by insisting it never meant to discriminate against Forcada.

Pere Terés, the company's director, told the Spanish newspaper ABC that the situation was a "misunderstanding" and that "in no circumstance would the company accept discrimination".

However, the company has since shut down its website and a number of clients have severed ties with it, after Forcada tweeted them directly to explain her predicament.

In a statement on Twitter, Coca-Cola said they would not work with the agency again and apologised to the woman.

"We are very sorry that our name has been aligned with this discriminatory and unfortunate response," the drinks giant said.

The Spanish division of window glass repair company Carglass, which is also a client of the PR agency, apologised to Forcada "and anyone else who has been offended by this message; we are too. We have expressed our position to Impulsa Comunicación".

It added it "promotes gender equality and acts like these do not represent our position".