7 ms·

Indians prefer to hire their own, this is very well known. And because this can’t even be discussed honestly, US corporations are powerless against this prefere

by ein0p 3y ago

Indians prefer to hire their own, this is very well known. And because this can’t even be discussed honestly, US corporations are powerless against this preferential treatment.

feyman_r 3y ago
Any sources, data etc. to back that up? Is it also for other ethnicities? How many of the top Indian CEO directs are Indian?
- basicallybones 3y ago
  I am an anecdote, but this is true.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- smilekzs 3y ago
  Also perhaps indirectly, H-1B LCA filings are public. TCS et al are consistently on top over many years.
- wakawaka28 3y ago
  This is just a guess, but I think the problem appears more among low-level employees and managers. Maybe CEOs look the other way but I doubt they have anything real to gain by referring strangers who only look like them.
bcheung 3y ago
...seems even hirer with marriage. I've worked at Silicon Valley startups that were that way. I remember thinking this is really odd how high the concentration was (probably about 70% Indian). Didn't really bother me because it was a great team and honestly one of the best companies I worked at. It didn't really seem like they discriminated in hiring and I never felt discriminated against at work. It was just that coworkers referred people they already knew.
- wakawaka28 3y ago
  Some people will hit each other up for paid references. The guy doing the referral can get paid by the new hire and the company. Idk what threshold of acquaintance is enough for a referral, but the worst things you can imagine have been done and are even routine in some places.
  - slim 3y ago
    or just indian engineers have a disproportionate number of indian engineers in their social network
    - wakawaka28 3y ago
      I'm sure that is also true. But I know the other thing happens too. I've heard about it and read it. Some Indians even asked me for a referral, as a stranger.
  - kelipso 3y ago
    Referrals are encouraged by internal recruiters in most companies...and they incentivize it with a few thousand dollars for a successful hire. Why are you making it sound so nefarious?
    - whimsicalism 3y ago
      obviously being paid by the hire for a referral is wrong?
    - wakawaka28 3y ago
      It's normal for companies to pay for referrals based on personal familiarity, but not for candidates to pay for fake recommendations. Outside of a fully disclosed consultancy-type arrangement, it is unacceptable for the candidate to pay anything to the referrer.
      - kelipso 3y ago
mupuff1234 3y ago
Isn't that kinda true to most nationalities if given a choice?
syndicatedjelly 3y ago
[flagged]
- wizerdrobe 3y ago
  Never a popular topic on HN, but I’ve been through some appalling diversity training as a white man that seems a-ok in the broader culture. I’ve left one high paying prominent fintech job over such nonsense. Sadly, I feel this is the result - if we’re not going to be colorblind as a rule everyone is going to “wise up” (and I use the phrase loosely) and start attacking everyone else.
  - syndicatedjelly 3y ago
    Sorry to hear that. I find those kinds of trainings rather distasteful as well, and I'm not even white. I'm lucky I can ignore that kind of crap for the most part. Except when people start inventing nonsense to libel Indian people with.
    - workingdog 3y ago
      Indians do better than white people in the US. You're next for the two-minute hate from the far-left. Watch for the 'caste' system being brought up like a boogeyman.
      - whamlastxmas 3y ago
        Are you saying caste discrimination isn’t actually a problem in the US?
- ein0p 3y ago
  Broadly speaking this is undeniable, and as an Indian you know it. This is precisely what I meant when I mentioned this can’t be honestly discussed: you’re denying reality to score some grievance points. I do personally know Indians who do not play these games. They exist, you might even be one of them. Congrats! But do consider the following statistics: 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs are Indian, and one third of all Silicon Valley engineers. While India represents a large talent pool, eg China represents an even larger pool, and yet we do not observe a large percentage of Chinese managers or CEOs. Care to theorize why that is?
agustamir 3y ago
If we're giving anecdotes, I'll dish out some too. Maybe you're getting at something - communities looking out for their kind. It might be seen as good or bad depending on the situation. I've seen academic research labs that are heavy on certain ethnicities. I've seen heavy tilt of Chinese students with a Chinese PI, similarly for Iranian, Turkish. Heck, I've seen silicon valley teams that are Indian heavy, Turkish heavy, Filipino heavy.
- ein0p 3y ago
  Yes, in fact currently I am working in a team which has a disproportionate percentage of Iranians. They too like to hire Iranians. I wouldn’t have any problem with any of this if eg it was OK for Americans to prefer Americans too. If we’re going to play games, let’s at least all play by the same rules.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    Is it because of bias, or because there are just a lot of Indians in our industry? In my case, I have more than a few levels of managers from India, but there doesn’t seem to be any favoritism going on (I was even asked once if I was interested in people management, and said no).
    - scruple 3y ago
      I watched a company go through lawsuits because of layers of Indian middle management. Turns out, they had essentially recreated a caste system inside of a massive American corporation. At the bottom was a staggering number of female engineers from North India who got a handsome payout on the other end. This is just another anecdote. I'm not saying that's what is happening where you work. But the signs where I worked were abundantly clear for anyone who happened to look in the direction of that specific department.
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    > Yes, in fact currently I am working in a team which has a disproportionate percentage of Iranians. They too like to hire Iranians. I wouldn’t have any problem with any of this if eg it was OK for Americans to prefer Americans too. In the US, it is no more OK, legally, to discriminate in hiring on the basis of nationality for any nationality compared to any other.
faeriechangling 3y ago
Why? Anybody with a pulse can see that Indians are overrepresented in IT relative to their population. Why not treat this any differently than Whites preferring to hire their own?
- mhh__ 3y ago
  It's "this isn't isn't happening, and if it is it's a a good thing"-adjacent.

by ein0p 3y ago

Indians prefer to hire their own, this is very well known. And because this can’t even be discussed honestly, US corporations are powerless against this preferential treatment.

feyman_r 3y ago

Any sources, data etc. to back that up? Is it also for other ethnicities? How many of the top Indian CEO directs are Indian?

basicallybones 3y ago
I am an anecdote, but this is true.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
smilekzs 3y ago
Also perhaps indirectly, H-1B LCA filings are public. TCS et al are consistently on top over many years.
wakawaka28 3y ago
This is just a guess, but I think the problem appears more among low-level employees and managers. Maybe CEOs look the other way but I doubt they have anything real to gain by referring strangers who only look like them.

bcheung 3y ago

...seems even hirer with marriage. I've worked at Silicon Valley startups that were that way. I remember thinking this is really odd how high the concentration was (probably about 70% Indian). Didn't really bother me because it was a great team and honestly one of the best companies I worked at. It didn't really seem like they discriminated in hiring and I never felt discriminated against at work. It was just that coworkers referred people they already knew.

wakawaka28 3y ago
Some people will hit each other up for paid references. The guy doing the referral can get paid by the new hire and the company. Idk what threshold of acquaintance is enough for a referral, but the worst things you can imagine have been done and are even routine in some places.
- slim 3y ago
  or just indian engineers have a disproportionate number of indian engineers in their social network
  - wakawaka28 3y ago
    I'm sure that is also true. But I know the other thing happens too. I've heard about it and read it. Some Indians even asked me for a referral, as a stranger.
- kelipso 3y ago
  Referrals are encouraged by internal recruiters in most companies...and they incentivize it with a few thousand dollars for a successful hire. Why are you making it sound so nefarious?
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    obviously being paid by the hire for a referral is wrong?
  - wakawaka28 3y ago
    It's normal for companies to pay for referrals based on personal familiarity, but not for candidates to pay for fake recommendations. Outside of a fully disclosed consultancy-type arrangement, it is unacceptable for the candidate to pay anything to the referrer.
    - kelipso 3y ago

mupuff1234 3y ago

Isn't that kinda true to most nationalities if given a choice?

syndicatedjelly 3y ago

[flagged]

wizerdrobe 3y ago
Never a popular topic on HN, but I’ve been through some appalling diversity training as a white man that seems a-ok in the broader culture. I’ve left one high paying prominent fintech job over such nonsense. Sadly, I feel this is the result - if we’re not going to be colorblind as a rule everyone is going to “wise up” (and I use the phrase loosely) and start attacking everyone else.
- syndicatedjelly 3y ago
  Sorry to hear that. I find those kinds of trainings rather distasteful as well, and I'm not even white. I'm lucky I can ignore that kind of crap for the most part. Except when people start inventing nonsense to libel Indian people with.
  - workingdog 3y ago
    Indians do better than white people in the US. You're next for the two-minute hate from the far-left. Watch for the 'caste' system being brought up like a boogeyman.
    - whamlastxmas 3y ago
      Are you saying caste discrimination isn’t actually a problem in the US?
ein0p 3y ago
Broadly speaking this is undeniable, and as an Indian you know it. This is precisely what I meant when I mentioned this can’t be honestly discussed: you’re denying reality to score some grievance points. I do personally know Indians who do not play these games. They exist, you might even be one of them. Congrats! But do consider the following statistics: 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs are Indian, and one third of all Silicon Valley engineers. While India represents a large talent pool, eg China represents an even larger pool, and yet we do not observe a large percentage of Chinese managers or CEOs. Care to theorize why that is?

agustamir 3y ago

If we're giving anecdotes, I'll dish out some too. Maybe you're getting at something - communities looking out for their kind. It might be seen as good or bad depending on the situation. I've seen academic research labs that are heavy on certain ethnicities. I've seen heavy tilt of Chinese students with a Chinese PI, similarly for Iranian, Turkish. Heck, I've seen silicon valley teams that are Indian heavy, Turkish heavy, Filipino heavy.

ein0p 3y ago
Yes, in fact currently I am working in a team which has a disproportionate percentage of Iranians. They too like to hire Iranians. I wouldn’t have any problem with any of this if eg it was OK for Americans to prefer Americans too. If we’re going to play games, let’s at least all play by the same rules.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Is it because of bias, or because there are just a lot of Indians in our industry? In my case, I have more than a few levels of managers from India, but there doesn’t seem to be any favoritism going on (I was even asked once if I was interested in people management, and said no).
  - scruple 3y ago
    I watched a company go through lawsuits because of layers of Indian middle management. Turns out, they had essentially recreated a caste system inside of a massive American corporation. At the bottom was a staggering number of female engineers from North India who got a handsome payout on the other end. This is just another anecdote. I'm not saying that's what is happening where you work. But the signs where I worked were abundantly clear for anyone who happened to look in the direction of that specific department.
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  > Yes, in fact currently I am working in a team which has a disproportionate percentage of Iranians. They too like to hire Iranians. I wouldn’t have any problem with any of this if eg it was OK for Americans to prefer Americans too. In the US, it is no more OK, legally, to discriminate in hiring on the basis of nationality for any nationality compared to any other.

faeriechangling 3y ago

Why? Anybody with a pulse can see that Indians are overrepresented in IT relative to their population. Why not treat this any differently than Whites preferring to hire their own?

mhh__ 3y ago
It's "this isn't isn't happening, and if it is it's a a good thing"-adjacent.