Discrimination

Police summon Aviva India CEO in discrimination case, firm denies claims

Aviva's spokesperson, based in Britain, said Aviva India "strongly denies any discrimination as claimed and has robust policies to ensure fair treatment to all employees"

Centre probing Netflix for visa violations, racial bias, shows email

The details of India's investigation were included in a July 20 email, reviewed by Reuters, which was written by a home ministry official to Netflix's former director of business and legal affairs

Microsoft to pay $14 mn to settle discrimination allegations: Report

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to pay $14.4 million to settle allegations that the global software giant retaliated and discriminated against employees who took protected leave, including parental and disability, the California Civil Rights Department announced Wednesday. The proposed settlement stems from a multi-year investigation by the California agency and the consent decree is subject to approval in state court in Santa Clara County, where the Redmond, Washington-based company has an office. The state agency, which launched its investigation in 2020, alleged that employees who took leave from work due to pregnancy or disability, or to bond with a new baby or care for a sick family member, received lower bonuses and unfavorable performance reviews. Those factors, in turn, harmed employee eligibility for merit pay increases and promotions and the practice disproportionately impacted women and people with disabilities, the department said. In a statement, civil rights department ...

Labour officials visit Foxconn TN plant, question executives about hiring

A Reuters investigation last week found Foxconn systematically excluded married women from assembly jobs at its main Indian plant on grounds they have more family responsibilities than others

Around 31% employees experience age-related discrimination at work: Study

Overall 31 per cent of employees in India have experienced age-related discriminations across sectors with the highest prevalence reported in multinational companies, a study said on Monday. The 'Ageism in the Workplace' study by talent company Randstad India revealed that 31 per cent of employees in India have experienced discriminations due to their age and such discriminations are mostly prevalent during recruitment process, especially in job advertisements of organisations. About 61 per cent respondents said job advertisements in India have age biases (qualifying age criteria or years of experience), it added. In India around 42 per cent of employees interviewed, aged below 55 years, have experienced or witnessed ageism or age related discriminations at their workplaces, compared to 29 per cent aged above 55 years, said the study. The data suggested that younger age groups faced more age discriminations than older age groups as there was a general lack of trust in the youngest

Zero Discrimination Day 2024: History, significance, theme or more

Zero Discrimination Day 2024: The UN marks March 1 as Zero Discrimination Day to prevent all sorts of discrimination, whether it is social, political or borders. Get to know more about it here

SC notice to Centre, states on PIL alleging caste discrimination in jails

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and 11 states, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, on a PIL alleging that the prison manuals of these states encourage caste-based discrimination. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of senior advocate S Muralidhar's submissions that jail manuals of these 11 states discriminate in the allocation of work inside their prisons and inmates' caste determines the places where they are lodged. The plea referred to Kerala Prison Rules and said they lay down a distinction between a habitual and a re-convicted convict, holding that those who are by habit a robber, house breaker, dacoit or thief should be classified and separated from other convicts. It claimed that the West Bengal Jail Code lays down that work in prison should be designated by caste, such as cooking work will be undertaken by dominant castes and sweeping work shall be undertaken by people from

SC notice to govts on PIL alleging caste-based discrimination in jails

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and 11 states, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, on a PIL alleging that the prison manuals of these states encourage caste-based discrimination in jails. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of senior advocate S Muralidhar's submissions that the jail manuals of these 11 states discriminate in allocation of work inside their prisons and caste determines the places where inmates are lodged. Certain de-notified tribes and habitual offenders are treated differently and discriminated against, the senior lawyer said. The court asked Muralidhar to compile jail manuals from the states and listed the plea for hearing after four weeks. Issuing notices to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and others, the bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to assist the court in dealing with the issues raised in the PIL filed by Sukanya Shantha, a native of Kalyan in

Biased bots? US lawmakers take on the 'Wild West' of AI recruitment

The question of what "responsible AI" might look like goes to the heart of an increasingly robust push-back against the unrestricted use of automation in the US recruitment market

California passes anti-caste discrimination bill; supporters on strike

California inched closer to becoming the first US state to ban caste discrimination after a bill to ban the practice passed in the state assembly Soon after the passage of the bill by the California State Assembly on Tuesday, some of its supporters went on a hunger strike demanding Governor Gavin Newsom to sign it into law as soon as possible. If signed into law, California would become the first State in the United States and the first jurisdiction outside India to outlaw discrimination based on caste. Seattle earlier this year became the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination. Completing procedural formalities, the California Senate overwhelmingly passed SB403 Discrimination on the basis of ancestry with 31-5 votes on Tuesday. The landmark anti-caste discrimination bill will now go to Governor Newsom's desk where he will decide whether to sign the bill into law. The legislation revises California's Unruh Civil Rights Act by adding caste as a protected category under ...

Inappropriate to ask other students their JEE advanced rank: IIT Bombay

The issue of discrimination on the IIT Bombay's campus came to light when a first-year student, Darshan Solanki, died by suicide on February 12

New York City agrees to pay $13 mn to 2020 racial injustice protesters

New York City has agreed to pay more than USD 13 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought on behalf of roughly 1,300 people who were arrested or beaten by police during racial injustice demonstrations that swept through the city during the summer of 2020. If approved by a judge, the settlement, which was filed in Manhattan federal court Wednesday, would be among the most expensive pay-outs ever awarded in a lawsuit over mass arrests, experts said. The lawsuit focused on 18 of the many protests that erupted in New York City in the week following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. With certain exceptions, people arrested or subjected to force by NYPD officers at those events will each be eligible for USD 9,950 in compensation, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs. The agreement, one of several stemming from the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, allows the city to avoid a trial that could be both expensive and politically fraught. It comes as

Urination case: MP authorities demolish part of accused's father's house

Hours after Madhya Pradesh police arrested Sidhi district resident Pravesh Shukla for allegedly urinating on a tribal youth, the local authorities on Wednesday pulled down a part of a house belonging to his father. A video of the urination incident involving Pravesh surfaced on Tuesday. Opposition Congress had demanded that the BJP government in the state use a bulldozer to demolish Shukla's properties. "His father Ramakant Shukla's house was not constructed as per permissions and therefore the illegal portion of it is being demolished, a district official said. Pravesh Shukla, who has been arrested, was found to have a criminal background, he added. On Tuesday, an official from the MP Chief Minister's Office had said that a case had been registered against Pravesh under Indian Penal Code sections 294 (obscene acts), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Discrimination, untouchability has no place in Sanatana Dharma: TN Guv

Discrimination or untouchability has no place in Sanatana Dharma and aberrations cannot define the fundamental characteristics of this ancient dharma which is about uniting people as one family, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi said here on Saturday. In his address at the golden jubilee celebrations of a mutt here, Ravi referred to the lineage of saints of India, like Sri Adi Sankara, Sri Ramanujacharya, Sri Madhvacharya; Sri Raghavendra Swamy and the Nayanmars and Alwars. He said, 'there is no discrimination at all.' Such saints stood for equality, he said and cited examples including that of Ramanujacharya being a great proponent of equality. Such a tradition --of Sanatana Dharma and its values-- was passed on to generations of people by the saints. This is unique and no other civilisation could claim to have such a living ancient tradition, he said. "Some people out of their ignorance, they try to say that Sanatana Dharma is discrimination; untouchability, no, this is not. ...

Focus on unifying issues: US lawmaker takes jab at talk of 'Hinduphobia'

"I grew up Indian American, Hindu American, in the 1980s, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was 97 per cent, white and Christian. And I didn't know the word Hinduphobia or feel Hinduphobia," he said

Pradhan asks IITs to ensure zero tolerance for discrimination on campuses

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan called for the complete eradication of social discrimination from campuses of educational institutions. Chairing the 55th IIT Council meeting here on Tuesday, he said students of Indian Institute of Technology must aspire to become job creators rather than job seekers. "There should be no social discrimination in any institute, be it IITs or private institutions. It is the responsibility of the authorities and the students to ensure that there is no discrimination on campuses," he told reporters after the meeting. With 34 students of various IITs dying by suicide over the last five years, he called upon the directors to be proactive in providing all kinds of support and develop and robust mechanism to ensure "zero tolerance" for discrimination on campuses. The council discussed steps needed to ensure mental health wellness among students. It focussed on the need for a robust grievance redressal system, increasing psychological counselling

Indian lecturer wins race discrimination case against UK university

An Indian lecturer has won a race discrimination case against the University of Portsmouth after an employment tribunal ruled that she was discriminated against when overlooked for a role as a visible member of the university's ethnic minority staff. Dr Kajal Sharma, who was appointed to a five-year fixed term secondment as Associate Head for Organisational Studies and Human Resources Management at the university starting January 2016, had the option to reapply to the post. However, when she was overlooked for that position, she complained under the university's grievance procedure in November 2020 that she had been discriminated against under the UK's Equality Act 2010. The claimant [Sharma] was a visible member of the black and minority ethnic [BAME] staff. She speaks with a marked Indian accent, notes the Employment Tribunal judgment dated November 29. The fact that the claimant was not successful in applying for the job she had been doing for five years, meant that a hundred pe

US universities add policies to counter caste-based discrimination

A group of students who helped research the issue said that the addition of caste to the policy "provides a framework for reporting incidents" of discrimination, according to the university

Two women sue Elon Musk's Twitter alleging discriminatory layoffs

Two women who lost their jobs at Twitter when billionaire Elon Musk took over are suing the company in federal court, claiming that last month's abrupt mass layoffs disproportionately affected female employees. The discrimination lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges over Musk's decimation of Twitter's workforce through mass layoffs and firings. Days after the world's richest man bought the social media platform for $44 billion, the company told about half of employees on Nov. 4 that they no longer had a job but would get three months severance. The lawsuit filed in a San Francisco federal court this week alleges that 57% of female employees were laid off, compared to less than half of men, despite Twitter employing more men overall before the layoffs. The cutbacks continued throughout November as Musk fired engineers who questioned or criticized him and gave all remaining employees the choice to resign with severance or sign a form pledging extremely hardcore work a

AI language models show bias against people with disabilities: Study

The researchers found that all the algorithms and models they tested contained significant implicit bias against people with disabilities