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WorklifeIndia: Caste bias in Silicon Valley: India's unwanted export

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Caste bias in Silicon Valley: India's unwanted export

31/07/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - WorklifeIndia, Caste bias in Silicon Valley: India's unwanted export

How caste bias has become an uncomfortable reality for many Indians migrating to the US

How caste bias has become an uncomfortable reality for many Indians migrating to the US for better job opportunities.

A landmark case against a tech giant in the US has made news recently. Regulators in the state of California sued IT firm Cisco for allegedly discriminating against an Indian-American employee on the basis of his caste. The company has denied the allegations.

Caste system, which is outlawed in India, is a social ranking practice, which determines the work you do, the religious practices you can follow and even the relationships you can have. Those at the bottom rung of the system are often referred to as ‘untouchables’. And with many Indians migrating to the US for better job opportunities, caste bias has become an uncomfortable reality there as well.

In this edition of WorklifeIndia, we look at India’s unwanted export, and how Indians working in tech firms in the US feel discriminated against because of their caste.


Presenter: Devina Gupta
Contributors: Yashica Dutt, author - Coming out as Dalit; Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Dalit technologist, executive director, Equality Labs Dalit civil rights organization; Laurence Simon, professor of international development at Brandeis University focusing on caste and social exclusion

Photo:A protestor holds a placard in a protest against killing of Dalit low-caste youth in Nepall, June 2020 Credit: Getty Images

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