Says a Bangalore-based think tank has come to a 'stupid' conclusion after finding a preponderance of upper caste, urban professionals in tech cos.
Says a Bangalore-based think tank has come to a 'stupid' conclusion after finding a preponderance of upper caste, urban professionals in tech cos.
BANGALORE: Tech companies have rubbished a new study by a leading think tank, the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bangalore, claiming that the IT sector has an urban, upper-caste bias. The study attracted attention as it came in the midst of a raging debate on job reservations in the private sector. It based its claims on a sample survey that found 86 per cent of employees in the IT sector belong to the upper castes and only five per cent have a rural background. The IT industry argues it hires people based on merit and the qualifying requirements for jobs.
The industry hires people with a certain 'cultural capital', which rural candidates lack and those from rich families possess, says Carol Upadhya, visiting fellow at NIAS' School of Social Sciences, who led the study. "It's stupid," says TV Mohandas Pai, head of HR at Infosys. "The industry does not have any bias. We don't hire people on the basis of what their caste is or where they come from but depending on whether they have the requisite skills. We are ready to go to any rural area to recruit people. Why blame the IT industry for not picking people who don't possess the required skills?"
"There is no intentional bias in hiring," says BS Murthy, CEO of Human Capital, a human resources firm. "By default, the majority of those employed by any knowledge intensive sector, be it IT, engineering or the medical profession, belong to the upper castes and hail from urban areas." "Whatever claims are made by NASSCOM or industry spokespersons on the IT industry's 'inclusiveness' do not have data to back them up. It should come out with the data in view of the debate on reservations," counters Upadhya.
Anant Koppar, President of Mphasis Technologies, points out that companies do not collect information about the caste or urban background of candidates. "The companies go for campus interviews to every remote corner of India." Most companies call those above a certain percentage of marks for a written test and those who pass it are called for an interview and those selected in the interview go to an HR interview. "The HR interview tests their attitude towards work, problem-solving capabilities etc," says Koppar, adding, "Oral communication is an issue with many candidates both from urban and rural areas. With such a hiring process, I do not think there is any scope for discrimination."
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