A Bengaluru-based recruitment professional has claimed that she was rejected after the final round of a job interview due to her fair complexion. Pratiksha Jichkar took to LinkedIn to share a screenshot of the rejection mail purportedly sent by the organisation she had applied to.
“I was rejected in final round of interview, as my skin tone was little fair for the team,” Jichkar wrote on the professional networking platform, adding that her job application was turned down even though she met all the required qualifications and skills.
She further added that in a world where topics like diversity, inclusivity, sustainability, are being discussed, people are still being judged on the basis of color, creed, religion and many other biases.
“In the world where we are promoting skill based opportunities, boosting immense learning potential through AI, creating extraordinary technologies and then not hiring folks because we are still the same society who hold grudges and biases,” she wrote.
Jichkar claimed that she had to go through three rounds of interviews and one assignment before she was turned down despite meeting all the required skill sets. She shared a screenshot of the email, which read, “Hi Pratiksha, Thank you for interviewing with us and being patient throughout the process. Unfortunately, we cannot move ahead with you for the role at this time.”
“We found your profile relevant and all the skills and qualifications match what we are looking for but we are an inclusive organisation and believe in equal opportunity for all,” it further read.
“Your skin tone is little fair for the current team so we don’t want differences in our internal team, and we decided not to offer you,” the email concluded.
Her post, which quickly went viral with many users sharing the story across several platforms, raised doubts in the minds of social media users. Many users even said that it is merely a publicity stunt and some even questioned the authenticity of the mail as the company name was blurred.
“Unless it was at a dhaba, no organization will ever cite THAT as a reason for dropping her application. Anyone who has worked in the corporate world knows they will make up some credible reason for disqualifying her,” a Twitter user wrote.
Another added, “Fake story. Companies don’t mention the reason for rejection.”
“How can someone substantiate such an accusation? I’d consider it made up for social media attention,” a third stated.
The LinkedIn post has garnered over 13,000 reactions on LinkedIn and more that 360 reposts so far.
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