An intern at a Big 4 firm in Mumbai has shared an unusual workplace experience on Reddit, claiming that a manager asked about their caste during their internship.
The post was shared on Reddit. The caption read, “I was interning at a Big 4 when one of my managers asked me what my caste was. Honestly, I was really caught off guard. I didn’t even know what to say at the time. Maybe they meant it casually, but I found it pretty weird, especially coming from a manager at work.
“What surprised me even more was that this happened in Mumbai. I just never expected someone to ask me something like that in a professional setting.
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“I’m not mentioning the person’s ethnicity or background because I don’t want this to turn into a generalisation about any particular community. I’m just sharing what happened because it genuinely shocked me. Has anyone else had something like this happen during an internship or while working in corporate India?
{{/usCountry}}“I’m not mentioning the person’s ethnicity or background because I don’t want this to turn into a generalisation about any particular community. I’m just sharing what happened because it genuinely shocked me. Has anyone else had something like this happen during an internship or while working in corporate India?
{{/usCountry}}“FYI, I am upper caste. Still, I felt that it shouldn’t happen in such a reputed firm.”
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Internet reacts
The post prompted several users to share their own views and experiences.
One user wrote, “This is the conversation most people aren’t ready for: casteism is prevalent in the private sector too, just like it is in the High Court. A lot of earlier studies have indicated that boards of large companies comprising directors, executive directors or equivalent positions belong to the same upper caste, and that preference for these same groups does exist. The numbers are alarmingly high too, at 85 to 90% and above.”
Another commented, “Weird! Casual curiosity or not, I really don’t see why a manager needs to know an intern’s caste in the first place.”
A third user said, “Very unfortunately, it’s common in the private sector too. After all, it’s within India and the same people are there that you see around cities or villages. Just say ‘Gen’ and brush off the topic. It’s not an appropriate topic, and do not engage for more than two seconds on it. Countering them and all brings a different level of hostility and politics. If the incident is repeated and you sense foul play, do report it to HR.”
Another user shared, “I got asked about caste while renting a home in a new city for a new job.”
“The problem with this is no one will report it. It’s still ‘casual banter’ in many daily conversations. If it was about race in European countries, it would’ve been reported to the committee and all,” another person wrote.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)