I was screwed over by Cisco managers who enforced India's caste hierarchy on me in US HQ, claims engineer
- Reference: 1593636745
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/07/01/cisco_caste_discrimination/
- Source link:
Cisco denies any wrongdoing.
The John Doe plaintiff, represented by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing, has 20 years of software development experience, and immigrated to the US from India, we're told. He alleges that, after taking a job at Cisco in San Jose in 2015, his Indian colleagues at the networking giant abused him because he was a member of the Dalit caste, a group at the bottom of India's caste social structure and considered "untouchable" by some in higher castes.
"Although de jure segregation ended in India, lower caste persons like Dalits continue to face de facto segregation and discrimination in all spheres," claimed the lawsuit's paperwork
[1]PDF
, filed this week in a federal district court in the Golden State."Not only do Dalits endure the most severe inequality and unfair treatment in both the public and private sectors, they are often targets of hate violence and torture."
Infosys denies former head of diversity recruitment's accusations of racial bias and visa fraud [2]READ MORE
The filing stated that of the many Indian workers who come to the US, only 1.5 per cent are Dalits. Cisco is one of the top five tech companies employing H-1B technical visa workers, and 70 per cent of visa holders come from India.
The plaintiff states that he went to the Indian Institute of Technology with one Cisco mananger, Sundar Iyer, who is of the highest Brahmin caste. Iyer is accused of sharing Doe's untouchable status with another Indian manager and using that information to make the plaintiff's working life difficult.
"Because both knew Doe is Dalit, they had certain expectations for him at Cisco," the lawsuit alleged. "Doe was expected to accept a caste hierarchy within the workplace where Doe held the lowest status within the team and, as a result, received less pay, fewer opportunities, and other inferior terms and conditions of employment because of his religion, ancestry, national origin/ethnicity, and race/color.
"They also expected him to endure a hostile work environment. When Doe unexpectedly opposed the unlawful practices, contrary to the traditional order between the Dalit and higher castes, Defendants retaliated against him."
The case comes amidst a larger conversation about diversity and racial discrimination within US tech companies. Protocol [3]noted today that Silicon Valley's internal culture, particularly its fondness for non-disclosure agreements, has had a chilling effect on efforts to highlight and end discrimination as employees of color are afraid to face legal retaliation for sharing their stories.
That retaliation allegedly included reducing the plaintiff's responsibilities, passing him up for promotions and raises, and taking other team members off of his projects in an attempt to isolate him.
Really? HR fails again?
Doe did take the matter up with HR, though his complaint went nowhere, he claimed. The lawsuit alleged this sort of treatment is not uncommon at Cisco's Silicon Valley campus and at its facilities in India. Despite having a large number of Indian and South Asian employees, Doe said Cisco seemed oblivious to the caste discrimination or was unwilling to do anything about it.
"Although Cisco has employed a predominantly South Asian Indian workforce for decades, Cisco was — and continues to be — wholly unprepared to prevent, remedy, or deter the unlawful conduct against Doe or similarly situated lower caste workers," the filing stated. "Moreover, Cisco’s training was deficient in that it did not adequately train managerial employees on workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, nor did the company prevent, deter, remedy, or monitor casteism in its workforce."
We asked the IT titan to comment on the claims, and a spokesperson told us: "Cisco is committed to an inclusive workplace for all. We have robust processes to report and investigate concerns raised by employees which were followed in this case dating back to 2016, and have determined we were fully in compliance with all laws as well as our own policies. Cisco will vigorously defend itself against the allegations made in this complaint."
The complaint, being heard in San Jose by Judge Nathanael Cousins, seeks damages for alleged violations of US workplace discrimination laws as well as retaliation and multiple violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/07/01/cisco.pdf
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/15/infosys_lawsuit/
[3] https://www.protocol.com/nda-racism-equality-diversity-tech
[4] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Cisco is committed to an inclusive workplace for all. We have robust processes to report and investigate concerns raised by employees
is management bollox speak for, we have plenty of rules in place, and we have NEVER had anyone question them before .....................
the outcome of this is the way we should view Cisco from now on - IF the DALIT guy WINS, they ARE listening, and MAYBE things will change [don't hold your breath]
IF the DALIT guy LOSES, then the attitudes that brought this case to court are actually institutionalised and Cisco has NO plans to do anything about it EVER.
and bearing in mind that they already employ a substantial number of workers from the sub continent, they may as well just admit they ARE running it according to caste, and intend to keep it so :o(
Well, I wouldn't want you on the jury. You've already determined guilt based on no evidence at all.
My Mother and aunt were half Indian, my mother lived in India as a child until the war started and my aunt who was a generation older, lived in India for much of her life, She abhorred the caste system and thought it was one of the things that held India back, not only socially but developmentally too as many able members of lower castes had little to no chance of advancement. It seems that little has changed in the last few decades.
I remember my mother telling me how badly treated the Dalits were as well as members of some tribes who are not hindu, it's a shame because India and Indians have so much to offer the world.
The great, the good, and the ugly
Worked with a guy who was determined to earn enough here in the West to go back and start a company without the cultural strictures.
Then there are those who happily adopt the freedoms here and stay in the West.
Then there are those who want the money and the freedom here in the West, and stay, but at the same time deny those to others, here in the West and back there. They don't get 'freedom'. They should have it taken away from them.
Ciscos holes in their HR policies...
... are as big as their holes in their security products.