Important Things You Need to Know About Caste Discrimination

HR professionals are well-versed in laws that prohibit discrimination based on religion, race, sex, and ethnicity. But in 2023, Seattle made history by becoming the first city in the United States to explicitly add caste to its list of protected classes. This landmark decision shines a spotlight on a form of discrimination that is deeply rooted in some cultures yet often overlooked in US workplaces.

So what exactly is caste discrimination, and why is it now part of anti-discrimination law in Seattle? More importantly, what should employers and HR teams do to ensure compliance and create an equitable workplace? In this blog, we will unpack the basics, explain the significance of this legal change, and share practical steps to help you recognize and address caste discrimination in your organization.

What is caste discrimination?

It’s important to understand background information on caste discrimination in order to be compliant with local and federal laws, make fair judgments in HR positions, and create a diverse and welcoming workplace environment. Here are some fundamentals you should know.

What is caste?

When Seattle passed its laws prohibiting discrimination based on caste, the city council members discussed the definition of caste extensively. Councilmember Kshama Sawant defined caste as “a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy (completely closed categories), and social barriers based on birth and descent.”

What is caste discrimination?

Treating someone differently because of their caste is caste discrimination. MIT Sloan Management Review describes caste as the fundamental assumption that humans are created in unequal groups. Someone’s perceived worth, based on their birth, creates hierarchies in societies that either bestow or deny privileges. In some cases, that discrimination extends into the workplace.

“This inequality is manifested by arbitrarily assigning different levels of purity and value to groups of people on an artificially defined hierarchy that gives some of them socially enforced rights and privileges, including the right to practice certain sets of occupations,” says the article.

What does that caste discrimination end up looking like? It can materialize as the roles people get at a job. People born in “high-ranking” castes may get promoted to managerial roles because they are perceived as better leaders and more intelligent people. On the other hand, people born in castes that are considered lower are assigned to low-end jobs, like data entry and coding, because people from higher castes believe them to be less worthy or intelligent.

Who does caste discrimination affect?

Caste discrimination is found in many societies across the world and it can affect anyone.

In an article published in the Journal of International Business Policy, authors pointed out that “although caste is commonly associated with India and Hinduism, it is prevalent, in varying degrees and forms, across South Asia and among other religions, including Christianity and Islam. In addition, caste is also found among the South Asian communities who migrated to developed economies (e.g., the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia) as well as to former colonies as plantation labor.”

The United States has its own societal castes, too. While it’s not always explicitly called a caste system, America’s history of slavery, its Jim Crow laws, and its immigration policies have effectively created a caste system that still exists today. This system heavily affects Black and biracial, interracial, and people of color (BIPOC).

When the city of Fresno passed its anti–caste-discrimination law, some of the proponents were people of Oaxacan Mexican descent, who also had experienced prejudice and discrimination from other Mexican immigrants because of a caste system of indigeneity.

In short, caste discrimination crosses many ethnic, national, religious, and cultural boundaries. It is not limited to any specific group of people or any specific area.

Is caste discrimination legal in the United States?

Currently, United States federal law prohibits discrimination in employment practices based on an individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. Some legislators believe that caste is already included in the federal law. For example, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill in 2023 that would have prohibited discrimination based on caste, saying that caste is already covered under existing laws.

Others think that caste discrimination is prevalent enough to warrant its own mention in anti-discrimination laws. Cities like Fresno and Seattle have created laws against caste discrimination specifically, making it illegal.

What should companies know about caste discrimination?

Being informed about caste discrimination is the first step in understanding how it’s affecting your employees and your company culture.

There are constant legal and policy changes happening

As awareness of caste discrimination spreads, more changes are happening across the United States. More cities may follow in the footsteps of Seattle and Fresno and pass laws that specifically address caste. Stay up to date with what’s going on in your city and state.

Universities are following suit as well. Brown University was the first Ivy League school to implement a policy prohibiting caste discrimination. The California State University system also designated caste as a protected status. If your company recruits heavily from universities with this policy, it may be worth revisiting your company's diversity policy.

It is also worth keeping track of lawsuits and compliance laws. In 2020, a Dalit engineer at Cisco filed a lawsuit claiming he was discriminated against by Indian employees. While the lawsuit against the individuals was dropped, the lawsuit against Cisco as a company is ongoing.

It’s tied in with other kinds of discrimination

Caste discrimination can often overlap with discrimination for other characteristics. Often, caste systems are rooted in legacies of racism, colorism, colonialism, and slavery. It’s important to be aware of these intertwinings.

In 2022, caste equality advocate Thenmozhi Soundararajan was scheduled to give a talk at Google for Dalit History Month. However, Google ended up canceling the event. Google said that the event, which was supposed to create awareness and unity, “was creating division and rancor” and that some Hindu employees felt like they were being targeted on the basis of religion.

However, as an HR professional, you should know that being against caste discrimination is not the same as discriminating against religion. When Seattle passed its law against caste-related discrimination, the law clarified that discrimination ban was not an infringement on Hindu religious practices.

There’s not a lot of data

Making data-based decisions is usually a good way to avoid bias. But what if there isn’t much data to go off of?

When Seattle was discussing its caste discrimination law, one concern was the lack of data and research around caste discrimination. Like many other forms of discrimination, prejudice against caste can be hard to prove or quantify.

This means it’s important for your company to document any complaints related to caste. The more data you gather, the more you can understand the extent of the problem within your organization.

How do you prevent caste discrimination at your company?

There’s no magic solution to prejudice, but here are a few ways you can help prevent caste discrimination from happening at your organization.

Learn more about caste systems

Education is a powerful tool to combat discrimination. Learning more about caste systems can help HR pros and people managers to identify instances of discrimination. You can’t protect employees if you don’t know what caste is or how it impacts your employees.

An essential piece of education is knowing your own country’s history. The more history and vocabulary you know, the more prepared you’ll be to recognize when discrimination or harassment is occurring. For example, understanding the United States’ history of slavery and the Black community’s Great Migration is a foundational part of understanding the unspoken US caste system. That history plays into why people of color are more likely to be in low-paying customer service and hospitality industries than their White counterparts of equal educational backgrounds, or may even be paid less for the same role.

Local advocacy groups can be excellent sources of education when it comes to learning about caste systems that may be present in your community. As you learn more, you may recognize caste in your own company in the roles in which people are hired or promoted or in any wage gaps that are otherwise unexplained by experience and skill.

Consider adding caste language to your policies

Even if there aren’t laws in your area that mention caste specifically, you could consider creating company policies to address discrimination issues. Companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Dell have created explicit corporate policies prohibiting caste discrimination.

You could also have an HR training or other educational events to raise awareness around caste discrimination.

Ask your employees

Research conducted in the UK found that ethnic minorities experienced lower job quality. They had less influence over the order in which they do their tasks and the standards they are held to. Employers may not fully understand the depth to which caste systems are affecting their employees — unless they ask.

This is why employee satisfaction surveys are vital. They can reveal sociological patterns that are affecting how your employees interact and how power and resources are distributed among teams. Be sure to regularly ask your team members how they feel about their role, how they feel they are treated, and how equitable they feel the company culture is.

Be aware of discrimination red flags

Employers should create hiring policies that promote diversity and equity. During hiring practices, employers should be aware of asking questions that could indicate prejudice around caste. Here are some “red flags” to look out for that could indicate caste discrimination:

• Asking about someone’s diet, as different castes may follow different dietary rules
• Inquiring about what town or area they are from (different areas could be associated with different castes living there)
• Making comments or asking questions about what someone’s religion is or what religious practices they participate in
• Wanting to know someone’s last name in a context where it isn’t necessary, because last names can sometimes link someone to a certain caste

Creating a welcoming environment and combating discrimination

Caste discrimination, on the surface, may be unfamiliar to many US-based HR professionals, but recent legal developments and discussions about the “American caste system” make it essential to understand and address. By learning what caste is, recognizing the subtle ways it can influence workplace interactions, and taking proactive steps to prevent it, HR teams can help create a more inclusive, respectful, and compliant workplace.