Most computing behemoths have extensive anti-discriminatory workplace practises, but unlike some areas, such as race, they do not specifically address caste-based prejudice. Apple is now one of the first IT company to publicly condemn and prohibit caste discrimination in the workplace. Given that the concept of caste, which is well-known in India, may be unfamiliar to managers and employees in the United States, Apple has begun training on the subject to help its staff better comprehend the new regulations.
According to Reuters, Apple amended its general employee conduct policy nearly two years ago to outlaw caste-based discrimination, although it has gone unreported thus far. The new policy supplements current standards that explicitly ban discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, and ancestry.
According to the report, the update came in June 2020, when California’s labour commissioner sued Cisco Systems on behalf of a low-caste engineer who accused two higher-caste seniors of stifling his career. The episode was regarded as the first US employment litigation involving claimed casteism, and it prompted large tech players to address a reality that seemed to extend beyond Indian boundaries.
According to reports, Apple confirmed revising the policy to the outlet. The corporation “changed language a couple of years ago to underscore” that it bans “discrimination or harassment based on caste,” according to the statement. It goes on to say that employee training expressly discusses caste.
“We have a diverse and global team, and we are glad that our policies and actions reflect that,” the Cupertino-based tech behemoth added.
Apart from Apple, it appears that IBM has also amended their policy to incorporate anti-caste rules. According to Reuters, IBM is now just training its management on the subject of caste. Other major technology companies, like Amazon, Dell, Facebook owner Meta, Microsoft, and Google, do not expressly and explicitly mention caste in their main worldwide policy.
In recent years, there has been much discussion in Silicon Valley about caste and alleged caste discrimination among IT professionals of Indian descent. Google, whose CEO Sundar Pichai has Indian ancestors, cancelled a seminar on caste prejudice in June, when Dalit rights activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan was scheduled to speak. Tanuja Gupta, a Google employee, organised the talk.
After the cancellation was announced, a story stated that Google cancelled the lecture because it was causing internal strife. Tanuja was subsequently investigated for allegedly breaking the company’s code of conduct. She eventually quit Google. Tanuja recently told the New Yorker that “a number of e-mails were sent to my VP, the head of HR, our chief diversity officer, and our CEO directly, claiming that the talk was creating a hostile workplace, that people felt unsafe, that the speaker was not qualified to speak on the topic, and several other allegations.” She also stated that prejudice based on caste was rampant in tech businesses, including Google, and that the industry needed to address it. After the cancellation was announced, a story stated that Google cancelled the lecture because it was causing internal strife. Tanuja was subsequently investigated for allegedly breaking the company’s code of conduct. She eventually quit Google.
