Are we Set for Caste System in Job Market?

  •   Sat, Aug 14 2021
  •   By John B Monteiro

August 14, 2021

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’…your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek ye first his kingdom… and all these things shall be added unto you.” (from New Testament of the Bible – Mathew – 31/33)

That was in the context of uneducated, agrarian and nomadic people. For the educated, settled and ambitious people of today the dictum would be: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Mammon and all other things …”.

Our life is no more agrarian or uneducated and mainly marked 9-10- to 5-6 office/factory life. Here a caste system has emerged and is growing by the day. In the midst of growing unemployment, a certain class of jobs are highly in demand and employers are tempting the qualified with high salaries and perks as reflected in the excerpts from news reports published recently. These hybrid job sectors include IT and related; but not limited to the as we start below with an example from the spirit (alcohol) sector – with which we start in a state of soberness.

Diageo India announces equal parental leave for all employees; introduces 26-week paternity leave

Effective July 30, 2021, this policy is applicable to all new parents, and can be availed by new fathers anytime within 12 months of the birth/ adoption of the child, thereby allowing the mother to better manage her career as well as other priorities.

Diageo India has announced a ‘family leave policy’, as part of its commitment to build a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. This policy, which takes into consideration surrogacy, adoption, and biological conception, offers all eligible employees a 26-week parental leave, comprising all benefits and bonuses, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation.

Effective July 30, 2021, this policy is applicable to all new parents, and can be availed by new fathers anytime within 12 months of the birth/ adoption of the child, thereby allowing the mother to better manage her career as well as other priorities. Through this flexible policy, Diageo India intends to challenge conventional norms associated with motherhood, such as the “primary-caregiver”.

In addition to parental leave, the “Family Leave Policy” offers Diageo India employees a host of other benefits and opportunities. This includes flexible working hours, creche allowance, maternity, and surrogacy coverage, up to 10-weeks leave in the unfortunate event of miscarriage, and many more benefits.

Women are in focus in the resurgence of recruitment in attractive salaries and perks as reflected in the following report titled “Cos offer big hikes to women in hiring rush” by Namrata Singh (Times of India – 4/8/21) and excerpted below.

Women professionals, especially those in the IT sector, may never have had it so good, with diversity hiring being the highlight of the season. Not only is there a scramble to bring talent on board – with emphasis on immediate joining – significant hires are women with companies offering them up to 70% jump over their last drawn package. Hiring today is largely centered in IT, with nearly 65% overall recruitment in this sector.
According to recruiting consultants, women candidates are in great demand. Work from home has increased opportunities for women, especially for those looking to re-enter the workforce – a boon for married women.
If all this sounds very rosy, it applies to limited sectors of enterprises – mainly IT and IT-related. This will eclipse other sectors both in terms of new recruitment numbers and widen the gap in remuneration and perks between the elite (IT Brahmins) and the rest (non-IT Brahmins). This would be a source of imbalance and heartburn and jealousy among those working in the latter sector.

Talking of jealousy, it is best to conclude with Shakespeare:
“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.”
Othello (3.3), Iago

The subject is open to many views. What are yours? Your response should be sent in the format below. (Pl. scroll down).

Cock-tale
Indian Postmen - Neither Dumb nor Lazy – Hit the Target

A man got a job as a postman. On his first day he was handed a letter. He looked at it and said: “This is not for me.” – Anon.

In February 2021 I had written a special article in Daijiworld about a Mangalurean, Immanuel D’Souza, now settled in the USA, and his acquisition from e-Bay of an antique Indian used postcard dating back to 1902.

I thought the age of postcards was over till I received one from 81-years-old Sreekar L Bhandarkar, MA. He had been a lecturer in Bhavan’s College of Journalism, Mangalore, in its first year. Now he is associated with Alva’s Newseum (like Aloysium is the name of century+old museum of St. Aloysius College.)

“Sir, kindly mail a copy of The Illustrated Weekly of India reprint on Mangalore Christians to me for our archives.
I am writing this after reading your article on surnames in Edex . I am happy that you are a writer and founder of a laughter club.”

(Edex is the educational supplement The New Indian Express issues every Monday through the newspaper’s 29 editions where I write a weekly interactive column (Welcome to Reason).

He has noted “Bondel Laughter Club: in the address widow of the card – but could not specify the pin-code.

Hats off to the postal department (Konchadi) for delivering to me the card despite the deficient address.

PS. I have couriered the requested reprint.

 

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By John B Monteiro
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Comment on this article

  • John Monteiro, Bondel, Mangaluru

    Tue, Aug 17 2021

    Rohan, Mangalore: Your demand-supply equation is well taken. In this case, it applies to a niche sector and may not hold for long with artificial intelligence and other hybrid technologies emerging on the scene. Whatever I write is by the grace of God reinforced by generous appreciation by persons of goodwill like you. Mangalurian, Mangaluru: Welcome back – you were sorely missed. Fake news is a plausible conjecture. At my age I am not likely to be easily lured by fake news and some of my sources have long crossed their century mark and wouldn’t have survived and thrived on fake news. But, I admire your rationale for rise, growth and survival of fake news. For each his own.

  • Mangalurian, Mangaluru

    Tue, Aug 17 2021

    Thank you Mr Monteiro for a feel-good (for some) article. Hoever, I am afraid, you might be a victim of fake news. What I gather is that, due to the pandemic, at least a 100,000 IT graduates have not been able to find jobs. This has resulted in far lower intake of fresh IT learners. A big number of engineering colleges have closed down. So the colleges-guild have plenty of reasons to circulate fake news, to prevent the whole degree-factory environment from crashing. Let us also not forget a few brand-new actors ("start-ups") who want to get free national-level publicity without having a single product or customer.

  • Rohan, Mangalore

    Sat, Aug 14 2021

    Dear Sir There are ups and downs in all the professions so is IT. It all depends on the demand supply gap. Today due to the pandemic and the following digitization due to social distance norms the demand for IT has surpassed the supply. We never know the future. Envy as you mentioned is very dangerous off course. This envy is because people have not tried to find The Kingdom as in the verse you have mentioned. We may have changed externally but the soul always need the same food for thought. I wouldn't think it would have been very difficult to find a famous personality like you for the postman. Thank you for rekindling our minds by your excellent thoughtful articles.


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