A new survey has found that nearly half of the techies on H-1B visas experience racial discrimination at work, with many saying it affects their promotion prospects. The findings are based on responses from 1,087 NRIs on Blind – an anonymous community where professionals discuss careers, toxicity at the workplace and more.
Nearly 50% Indian techies face racial discrimination
According to the survey, nearly 50 per cent of Indians living in the United States said they had been unfairly treated because of their race. A majority of them are employed at major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Intuit.
“44 per cent of Indians living and working abroad say they have been unfairly treated because of their race,” a press release stated.
It added, “Reports of racial discrimination were especially prevalent among employees at Google, Microsoft and Intuit, where response rates exceeded 50 per cent.”
26 per cent of participants, the press release stated, agreed that bias exists but it has little effect on their career growth, while 30 per cent believed the concerns around racial discrimination are “exaggerated” and not a major issue.
H-1B hate: Discrimination impacts promotion
The press release stated that the poll was conducted on Blind, and 1,418 people participated in it. Of these, the platform filtered out those who were either not Indian or whose geolocation was identified as India.
When asked whether racism against Indians is real or exaggerated, 44 per cent said they have faced unfair treatment because of their race, 26 per cent acknowledged bias but said it does not affect their careers, while 30 per cent dismissed it as exaggerated.
Racial discrimination is the most reported form of discrimination, with 28 per cent of respondents saying that they have experienced it. It is followed by regional bias between North and South Indians (16 per cent), age (13 per cent), gender (10 per cent), and caste (7 per cent), while 26 per cent reported facing no discrimination at all.
Among those who experienced bias, 44 per cent felt it affected promotions or performance evaluations, 21 per cent reported social exclusion or subtle ostracism, 8 per cent pointed to job interview unfairness, and 6 per cent linked it to layoffs, whereas 21 per cent said it had no impact on their career.
Most respondents, who faced discrimination, did not escalate the issue, with 72 per cent taking no action, 21 per cent leaving their companies, 6 per cent reporting the matter to HR or leadership, and just 1 per cent pursuing legal or formal complaints.
When asked if the situation improved after the respondents took action, 57 per cent said the situation did not change, 23 per cent said it worsened, and only 20 per cent saw things improve.
‘Resentment towards H-1B workers’
A professional from General Motors said that the issue of resentment towards Indian H-1B workers is often misunderstood, stating, “It is not racist to point out that the majority of these visas go to Indians. That is fair and valid. It is racist to however hate on individual Indians instead of blaming the systems, laws, and corporations that all enable it.”
Another respondent from Google pointed out that bias isn’t always external, adding, “In my experience, issues don’t always stem from race. Sometimes they come from cultural or regional biases within the same country. Being Indian myself, I’ve actually had more challenges working with other Indians because of micro-management or favouritism.”