Myth of meritocracy, caste-based disparities in IT sector
The HinduIndia’s IT sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the country, contributing over 7% to India’s GDP, so much so that the sub-Saharan African countries look to follow its lessons to replicate India’s success in software exports. Analysis by the writers of this article based on household surveys by the National Sample Survey Office unravels stark caste-based disparities in employment probabilities and wage earnings in the IT industry, indicating that social inequalities are significantly alive in the job market. In 2011-12, lower caste groups faced only 6% probability of being engaged in the IT sector as compared to 17% for upper castes. Thus, while the overall employment probabilities for engagement in the IT sector increased for both caste groups, the deficit of lower castes went up from 11% in 2011-12 to 17% in 2020-21. The study also reveals that even when lower caste groups manage to enter the IT job market, they face labour segmentation as reflected in caste-based disparities in wage earnings.
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