Caste Added As Protected Category For Student Workers In This Prestigious University

Massachusetts: The prestigious Harvard University has added a protected category ‘caste’ for all graduate and undergraduate students who are workers.

Harvard becomes the first Ivy League school to have caste equity protection under its non-discrimination clause for unionised student workers, reported news agency PTI.

As many as 4,900 student workers will be impacted by the decision at Harvard and the surrounding Harvard community, Equity Labs said via a statement.

Harvard now joins UC Davis, Colby College, Brandeis University, and several other universities where students, faculty, and staff face caste-based discrimination, said Equity Labs.

“Driven in partnership with caste-oppressed community members, this win is part of a larger national movement for caste equity that aims to protect caste-oppressed students, workers, and communities across the country,” Equity Labs further said.

“With the incredible support of Equality Labs as well as the Harvard Anti-Caste Coalition, the Harvard Graduate Students Union has become one of the first higher education labour unions to have secured protections against caste discrimination in a collective bargaining agreement,” Harvard Graduate Student Union Organizer, Aparna Gopalan, was quoted as saying by the agency.

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