Bizarre! Bengaluru woman denied job offer for fair skin?

Pratiksha Jichkar, a professional from Bengaluru, has claimed something bizarre in a recent LinkedIn post. The recruitment marketing professional said she was denied a job offer and rejected after three rounds of interviews because of her skin colour being 'too fair'. While this sounds too bizarre to be true, the woman, without naming the company, has shared a screenshot of the email sent to her.

Jichkar said she sat for three rounds of interviews and was rejected in the final round. On LinkedIn, she wrote, "I was rejected in final round of interview, as my skin tone was little fair for the team. You read that right, after 3 rounds of interview, 1 round of assignment, with all the relevant skills, qualifications and experience I was not fit for the role because my skin tone was fair than the current team."

As per the screenshot, the alleged email read, "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 skills and qualifications match what we are looking for but we are an inclusive organisation and believe in equal opportunity for all.” However, after this it added, “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.”

Jichkar said she was not only stunned but also shocked at the email. "The hiring manager wished to have no differences in the team and so I wasn’t offered the role. I wasn’t just stunned, shocked but felt really worst about what kind of world are we heading to. Here we are talking about diversity, inclusivity, sustainability and then we are judging people based on 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," Jichkar said. "I wish I could name them and call out, but if you are reading this it’s an opportunity for you to rectify your culture and be open to people with talent, skills and potential."

"Great organisations are not built by great leaders but by employees who thrive with great values, culture, respect and potential to scale new heights irrespective of biases, politics and competition," she added. However, as the post went viral on the internet many users claimed that it was a publicity stunt.