Caste Has Hit a Nerve in South Asian Communities

Caste is a hierarchical system, based on birth, that affects South Asians on the subcontinent and around the world. 

Many hesitate to discuss it out in the open. But over the years, people from marginalized caste backgrounds have been speaking up — including in Silicon Valley, home to thousands of workers of South Asian descent, where allegations of caste discrimination have hung over some of the area’s largest tech companies. 

Now, a bill has been introduced to ban caste discrimination in California. And it has sparked heated arguments within South Asian communities.

Episode transcript

Guest: Sonia Paul, freelance journalist

Links:

• LISTEN: The hidden caste codes of Silicon Valley
• READ: Trapped in Silicon Valley’s Hidden Caste System

The audio used in this episode with Professor Anupama Rao originally aired in The Agenda With Steve Paikin. 

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host. 

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