Summary. In the United States, most efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion focus on race, gender, and sexual orientation. Companies should be aware of caste as a basis of discrimination, too. Caste is a form of social organization and identity in the South...

This past April, Thenmozhi Soundararajan was scheduled to give a talk about caste to employees at Google News. Soundararajan is a Dalit rights advocate — someone who works against caste-based discrimination against the Dalits, the community that has faced the most historic and ongoing caste oppression in Indian society, where the somewhat rigid and ancient caste hierarchy still prevails. But when some “upper-caste” employees complained that her views on caste were anti-Hindu, a firestorm ensued, ultimately resulting in Google canceling her visit.

The incident has had significant negative blowback: The senior manager who invited Soundararajan to speak has since resigned. News outlets around the world have criticized Google’s response, including some who have pointed to the influence of right-wing Hindu nationalist politics within the company. And employees have questions about whether Google truly believes in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) values that it announces.

Soundararajan looks back on the experience with hope that it offers an opportunity for people to learn and grow. “In a way, I’m grateful that this happened, because it’s forcing us to at least acknowledge caste and talk about it,”...

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