Making the Elite: Top Jobs, Disparities, and Solutions:
How do socioeconomically unequal screening practices impact access to elite firms and what policies might reduce inequality? Using personnel data from elite U.S. and European multinational corporations recruiting from an elite Indian college, I show that caste disparities in hiring do not arise in many job search stages, including: applications, application reading, written aptitude tests, large group debates that assess socio-emotional skills, and job choices. Rather, disparities arise in the final round, comprising non-technical personal interviews that screen on family background, neighborhood, and “cultural fit.” These characteristics are plausibly weakly correlated with productivity (at the interview round) but strongly correlated with caste. Employer willingness to pay for an advantaged caste is as large as that for a full standard deviation increase in college GPA. A hiring subsidy that eliminates the caste penalty would be more cost-effective in diversifying elite hiring than equalizing the caste distribution of pre-college test scores or enforcing hiring quotas.
No big surprise.
The author wants caste penalty or hiring quota etc, interference of govt into pvt sector destroys the only thing in India outside of govt interference. I am not sure the benefits of govt intereference will do any further good. More likely that as there is greater capital growth, the 90% equal hiring practices in pvt industry becomes common across the society and the further differences disappear. Govt interference in pvt sector is something I cant support now, given that govt and opposition already are talking of pvt sector quota as well. once that happens, one might very well end all pvt sector completely.
at least in south india, given the composition of the population, obcs have sufficient representation in private sector, including mncs and at all levels. this is noticable.
if there is a demand for seats on the board, then it is difficult. obc reservation in private sector i feel is just a gimmick.
Oh boy!!
“Using personnel data from elite U.S. and European multinational corporations recruiting from an elite Indian college, I show that caste disparities in hiring do not arise in many job search stages, including: applications, application reading, written aptitude tests, large group debates that assess socio-emotional skills, and job choices. Rather, disparities arise in the final round, comprising non-technical personal interviews that screen on family background, neighborhood, and “cultural fit.”
Even though the companies may be euro or american, most of the local top honchos + staff who do the hiring decisions are UCs. To me it sounds like, UC Hiring managers are using vague criteria like family background, neighborhood and “cultural fit” to penalize OBC candidates. These are precisely the criteria that were/are used even in US, although the targets of such discrimination have now changed slightly.
I would argue that instead of quotas, companies should be required to not consider factors which do not impact job performance when making hiring decisions at all levels. But given how woke HR has made a mess of such rules….
Long term, OBCs need to start their own business and not depend upon others charity. But so far, all agency of OBCs does not extend beyond politics. Also people who reach top positions in companies are more likely to go found/fund independent ventures. So yeah every effort should be made to make our top corporates leadership be more effective and diverse.
6 out of top 10 IIT JEE ranks bagged by telugus.
https://twitter.com/GabbbarSingh/status/1670294560734601216
3 out of 6 are Reddys. Kudos to them for not giving a f%^* about their varna status and dominating so many fields …. Politics, cinema, industry and academia. They should be the role model for other OBCs.
But can they operate on their patients, while being drunk like arjun reddy.
Till then they will remain in their varna status.
Reddys are not dwija but they certainly aren’t OBC. They never were downtrodden in a way OBCs were or are considered to be, compared to forward castes in places where the chaturvarna system was fully established. It is not about not giving a f%^* about varna status, varna just doesn’t occupy their social consciousness the way it does elsewhere. The same is true for other equivalent castes in South India.
You are right about Varna status not impacting landed castes in south India and Maharashtra like it does in north. But that was not my point. Historically, these castes did not place much emphasis on literacy, education etc. This was reflected in share of white collar jobs and overall educational achievement. This reddy + Telugu domination of iit is a good start worth emulating by other castes.