California may become the first state in the nation to outlaw caste-based bias, a safeguard people of South Asian descent say is necessary to protect them from discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where they hold key roles.
State Sen. Aisha Wahab , the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to the state legislature, introduced the bill Wednesday. It adds caste — a division of people related to birth or descent — as a protected category in the state's anti-discrimination laws.
A United Nations report in 2016 said at least 250 million people worldwide still face caste discrimination in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Pacific regions, as well as in various diaspora communities. Caste systems are found among Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Muslims and Sikhs."Caste goes beyond religion and nationality," she said.
California"has been ground zero for the caste equity movement," said Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder and executive director of Oakland, California-based Equality Labs, a Dalit advocacy group.According to a 2021 report by the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, Asians, including South Asians, hold 37.8% of technical roles and 25.3% of leadership roles at Silicon Valley's largest tech companies.
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A California bill aims to explicitly ban caste discrimination in the state | CNNA California lawmaker has introduced a bill in the state Senate that would add caste as a protected class to the state's anti-discrimination laws. It's the first such statewide effort in the US.
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New bill aims to outlaw caste discrimination in CaliforniaProponents of the bill say this bias is prevalent and it manifests in the form of social alienation and discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where South Asians hold key roles. Opponents argue such measures will hurt a community that already faces discrimination.
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