Bihar Woman Says She Was 'Ethnically Humiliated' At Work, Neglected By HR

A Bihar woman working in Hyderabad took to LinkedIn to share her upsetting experience at work, saying she was harassed and 'ethnically humiliated' by her seniors. The woman, an HSBC employee, alleged she was subjected to insensitive comments about her background and even threatened with physical assault on one occasion. She wrote that she had faced many such experiences in the past year when she was working at the office. The employee further added that she reported this to human resources but was met with no action. 

"I'll Slap You So Hard": Woman Threatened, Ethnically Abused At Work

Taking to LinkedIn as she resigned from the job, the woman from Bihar opened up about her experience with ethnic discrimination and harassment at the workplace. The employee, who had been working there for about a year, specified that she had gone through several instances of derogatory comments and verbal abuse from coworkers and seniors.

In one incident, the woman was allegedly threatened with physical assault at her office. The woman stated that on April 22, a coworker said, "Ek chammat marenge, Bihar pahuch jaogi" (I'll slap you so hard, you'll reach Bihar." She said that her team did nothing except hold a meeting where she was reminded that it was simply a hate comment and not actual abuse.

The woman said that she filed a complaint with HR under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) at Workplace Act, however, no action was taken. She wrote, "I reached out to the concerned HR team and filed a POSH Complaint, after weeks of the incident, on 3 May, I received an email to give feedback for the same without any updates on what action was taken.”

The woman's post on the professional social media platform has gained traction and many users have come to her support. One  LinkedIn user asserted, "You should draft an email to the HSBC headquarters and CC the CEO in India. Please do not stay silent; self-esteem is so valuable." Some also spoke up about the commonality of discrimination against people from Bihar.

"Disheartened about what happened. It's high time people stop passing insensitive comments about Bihar and its people," a LinkedIn user expressed. "It's funny how insecure they can be of Biharis and their capabilities to excel in the same environment as theirs. I'm happy that you chose to speak about it OUT AND LOUD! More power to you! HSBC hope you are listening?”

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