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The Documentary: The hidden caste codes of Silicon Valley

The hidden caste codes of Silicon Valley

18/04/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - The Documentary, The hidden caste codes of Silicon Valley

Indian workers are thriving in Silicon Valley but some say they face caste discrimination

Indian Americans are a Silicon valley success story, reaching the top of the tech industry. But some workers from the most oppressed caste, Dalits, say they face discrimination.

Sam, Harsha and Siddhant are tech workers of Indian descent, who all say they have experienced discrimination in corporate America. They are not being singled out on the basis of race, gender, religion or nationality, but by an invisible factor; one they were born into, and one that others like them come to the US to try to escape. They say they have faced discrimination because of their caste. 

A recent court case highlighted the issue. In 2020, California regulators sued the tech giant Cisco, claiming it discriminated against a worker on the basis of his caste. He was Dalit, the most oppressed caste, and his manager was from a dominant caste.
  
Soon afterwards, a US Dalit civil rights group received more than 250 claims of caste discrimination from workers at numerous other tech companies. But what is it? How does it affect workers with Dalit heritage? And why do some people say legislating against caste discrimination in the US would be 'Hinduphobic'?

Presenter: Sonia Paul
Producer: Ravi Naik

(Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

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