Company responds after viral post alleges bias and workplace discrimination, saying internal review found claims false and reiterating commitment to an inclusive environment.
Anand Mahindra
A screenshot of a message posted online by a lawyer, Ashutosh J Dubey, who claimed to have received it from an anonymous Tech Mahindra employee, has gone viral after it mentioned a “Mini Pakistan-like” atmosphere allegedly prevailing at the company’s Goregaon campus in Mumbai.
The development comes in the wake of a recent controversy at the Nashik campus of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where a few team leaders were arrested over alleged instances of sexual harassment and forced religious conversion. The matter is currently under investigation by the company.
Advertisement
The message shared by lawyer Ashutosh Dubey alleges bias in hiring practices, unequal enforcement of corporate norms and preferential treatment for certain employees during religious occasions at the Goregaon office.
Advertisement
According to the message, a Tech Mahindra employee at the company’s Goregaon campus has alleged religious discrimination.
“I work at Tech Mahindra in Goregaon IT park. Here, at the moment, more than 60% of employees are boys of a certain faith. I joined this company 4 months ago. I have seen here that all the boys have Hindu girlfriends. I feel very uncomfortable working here. Girls of a certain community are allowed to wear burqas and niqabs here. We don’t even know who those girls are. There is a Human Resources official here, and he is the reason for hiring employees from a certain community. During their festivals, he gives total freedom to employees of a certain faith. I feel like I am working in a Mini Pakistan here. Please do something if possible. Let Anand Mahindra know about this,” the post shared on social media by the lawyer stated.
While the authenticity of the message and the allegations has not been independently verified, the nature of the claims made has raised questions about workplace inclusivity, policy uniformity and corporate accountability.
Responding to the viral claims, a Tech Mahindra spokesperson said the company had conducted an internal review and found the allegations to be “inaccurate and unfounded”.
“This is with reference to recent social media posts alleging religious bias within Tech Mahindra. We take such concerns seriously and conducted an internal review, which found these claims to be inaccurate and unfounded,” the spokesperson said.
The company also clarified that an image titled ‘Footwear Free Zone’, which has been circulating alongside the claims, does not belong to any of its offices. It further termed the anonymous allegations regarding hiring practices as false.
“At Tech Mahindra, we are firmly committed to building an inclusive, respectful workplace where every individual is treated with dignity and fairness, without discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of religion,” the spokesperson added.
The company said it would continue reviewing its policies and processes to ensure that its standards are consistently upheld and that no coercive or inappropriate conduct takes place.
Some social media users online have called for clarity and a formal response from the company, while others have tagged Anand Mahindra, seeking his intervention, even as others stressed the need for a fair and unbiased investigation before drawing any conclusions.
Advertisement
