India’s caste system limits diversity in science
21–30 of 68 posts
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#22What I found surprising is that the genetic distance between Indian castes is rather large, comparable to the distance of a northern European to eg a greek person: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC311057/
A lot of research into the genetic history of the Indian subcontinent seems to be from the late 90s and early 2000s. Is there a reason it has stopped? We have gotten a lot better at genetic anthropology since then but for some reason there is very little new research on the genetic history of the Indian subcontinent.
I assume people are not in a hurry to get themselves canceled. I’d imagine genetic researchers are particularly sensitive to potential misuse of their research.
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#23What I found surprising is that the genetic distance between Indian castes is rather large, comparable to the distance of a northern European to eg a greek person: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC311057/
It seems to me that, if you have a society that divides people by caste and comes down hard on intermarriage, after some generations this is what you'd expect. Not one big "Indian" gene pool, but several smaller ones who remain distinct while still living close together.
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#24There may be pockets in India where caste still impacts your life (mostly poor, uneducated and backward villages), but in major cities where people are educated and modern, caste is not significant. More on that here: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/opinion/sunday/caste-is-n...
That's an interesting editorial - it doesn't match what I've heard from multiple people and especially seems hard to reconcile with things like the more recent discussions and lawsuits regarding caste in Silicon Valley: https://qz.com/apple-meta-and-google-must-fight-caste-discri...
Look, if someone files a racial discrimination lawsuit against your company then does that prove that everyone in your company is racist?
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
This just isn't correct. Not only is it still pervasive in India it actively impacts US Indian immigrants as well. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/big-techs-big-pro...
Untrue. You can get people to complain about anything, that doesn't make it true.
Just want to point out that the unnatural vigor with which HN and other forums reject the idea of Caste Discrimination is telling. If this were White on Minority racism for instance people defending it in this way would be ostracized and most would say that it this type of discrimination is beyond the pale and call for vigorous investigation into the claims.
Instead all we see about Caste discrimination is "it doesn't exist", "it's manufactured", "it's not a problem". It's frankly glaring.
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#26Pervasive in Tech as well. Well known in FAANG companies that upper castes promote other upper castes and squash anyone under them from a lower caste. Also actively hushed, see Google canceling a talk on their campus about this very issue after upper castes complained. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/big-techs-big-pro...
~2% of Indian expats in the US are low-caste, and most of those are not in tech. This is a manufactured controversy.
It’s negatively impacted companies I’ve worked with with good developers being stone walled. I spent half of my time being a go-between for different groups that refused to talk to each other.
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
~2% of Indian expats in the US are low-caste, and most of those are not in tech. This is a manufactured controversy.
Spoken like an upper caste member. The article lays out issues in Google and lawsuits in other large tech companies. "Manufactured Controversy" that has led to major Discrimination lawsuits. Sure. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cisco-lawsuit/california-...
I don't think we should make these kinds of accusations on hn, but, it's interesting that they are a first time commenter
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's an interesting editorial - it doesn't match what I've heard from multiple people and especially seems hard to reconcile with things like the more recent discussions and lawsuits regarding caste in Silicon Valley: https://qz.com/apple-meta-and-google-must-fight-caste-discri...
Look, if someone files a racial discrimination lawsuit against your company then does that prove that everyone in your company is racist?
No, but it suggests that management/HR _may_ be.
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wait - if that's the case, why is caste an issue at Oracle, up to the point where there's federal lawsuits? Are the Indian employees at that firm all from backwards villages?
If someone finds a way to make a buck through a lawsuit they will do it. Just because someone filed a lawsuit doesn't make it true.
And just because you are being dismissive doesn't make it false.
Re: India’s caste system limits diversity in science
#30Cisco:
Rare Caste Bias Case Advances, Raising Calls for Federal Action https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/rare-caste-...
California accuses Cisco of job discrimination based on Indian employee's caste https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cisco-lawsuit/california-...
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Google:
Google’s Caste-Bias Problem https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/googles-caste-bias-pr...
Big Tech’s big problem is also its ‘best-kept secret’: Caste discrimination https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/big-techs-big-pro...
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Cal State:
Cal State banned caste discrimination. Two Hindu professors sued. https://wapo.st/3CHYYSA