Italy is probing a job ad for female receptionists that asks applicants to submit their swimsuit photos

• An Italian job ad has sparked criticism for asking female applicants to send in swimsuit photos.
• Applicants also had to be under 30, and have "good looks" and a "sunny disposition."

A job posting by a security company in Naples, Italy, has caused an uproar over its requirement for prospective female receptionists to send in photos of themselves in swimsuits.

The job advertisement also said applicants had to be under 30, have a "sunny disposition" and "good looks," own a car, and speak fluent English, according to Italian news site Il Giornale.

"We require you to send a full-length photo in a bathing suit or similar," the posting read.

The security company — Medial Service S.R.L. — later removed the swimsuit requirement from the advertisement, but a screenshot had already started making rounds on social media, the Guardian reported.

Social media users condemned the advertisement as sexist. They also expressed outrage at the job's requirements and the pay offered — $557 a month for 24 hours a week (or around $5.80 an hour). According to Glassdoor's jobs portal, the average monthly salary for a receptionist in Italy is about $1,370.

Local officials chimed in to blast the advertisement. Chiara Marciani, the labor councilor for Naples, called it "absurd" and "unsuitable."

"They are scandalous on so many levels, starting with the search for a woman under 30 and the salary that is absurdly unsuitable for the job, commitment, and the activity that is required," Marciani told the National Associated Press Agency, according to Il Giornale.

Italy's Ministry of Labor and Social Policies has ordered an investigation into the listing, Il Giorno reported.

According to the outlet, the company said the job advertisement was posted due to the "error of an inexperienced employee" who wasn't familiar with its gender equality policy. The firm admitted that the swimsuit requirement was inappropriate.

Severino Nappi, a regional councilor for Campania — where Naples is located — criticized the advertisement for focusing on qualities unrelated to the job.

"Such a shame!" he wrote on Facebook. "Not a word about the skills required or what type of work will be done."

"Anyone has the right to be evaluated for their abilities, their experiences, and their desire to give their best, certainly not for their physical appearance," Nappi added.