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Most tech giants have elaborate anti-discriminatory work policies, but unlike some topics -- say race -- they do not explicitly call out caste-based discrimination. Now Apple has become one of the first tech giants to explicitly call out and ban caste discrimination in the company. Given that the idea of caste, which is well-known to people in India, might not be familiar to managers and employees in the US, Apple has also started training on the topic so that its workers understand the new policies better.
According to Reuters, Apple updated its general employee conduct policy to prohibit caste-based discrimination nearly two years ago, but it was unreported so far. The new policy sits alongside existing codes that strictly prohibit discrimination against race, religion, gender, age, and ancestry.
The report notes that the update came in June 2020 when California's employment regulator sued Cisco Systems on behalf of a low-caste engineer who accused two higher-caste seniors of blocking his career. The incident was viewed as the first US employment lawsuit about alleged casteism and it forced major tech players to confront reality, which is seemingly going outside Indian borders.
Apple reportedly confirmed updating the policy to the publication. It said the company "updated language a couple of years ago to reinforce" that it prohibits "discrimination or harassment based on caste." It adds that training provided to staff also explicitly mentions caste.
The Cupertino-based tech giant also said, "We have a diverse and global team and are proud that our policies and actions reflect that."
Apart from Apple, IBM also seemingly updated its policy to include anti-caste rules. Reuters report that for now, IBM is only training its managers on the topic of caste. Other big tech players such as Amazon, Dell, Facebook owner Meta, Microsoft, and Google do not specifically and explicitly reference caste in their main global policy.
www.indiatoday.in
According to Reuters, Apple updated its general employee conduct policy to prohibit caste-based discrimination nearly two years ago, but it was unreported so far. The new policy sits alongside existing codes that strictly prohibit discrimination against race, religion, gender, age, and ancestry.
The report notes that the update came in June 2020 when California's employment regulator sued Cisco Systems on behalf of a low-caste engineer who accused two higher-caste seniors of blocking his career. The incident was viewed as the first US employment lawsuit about alleged casteism and it forced major tech players to confront reality, which is seemingly going outside Indian borders.
Apple reportedly confirmed updating the policy to the publication. It said the company "updated language a couple of years ago to reinforce" that it prohibits "discrimination or harassment based on caste." It adds that training provided to staff also explicitly mentions caste.
The Cupertino-based tech giant also said, "We have a diverse and global team and are proud that our policies and actions reflect that."
Apart from Apple, IBM also seemingly updated its policy to include anti-caste rules. Reuters report that for now, IBM is only training its managers on the topic of caste. Other big tech players such as Amazon, Dell, Facebook owner Meta, Microsoft, and Google do not specifically and explicitly reference caste in their main global policy.
Apple becomes first tech giant to explicitly ban caste discrimination, trains managers on Indian caste system
The report notes that the update came in June 2020 when California's employment regulator sued Cisco Systems on behalf of a low-caste engineer who accused two higher-caste seniors of blocking his career.
