Accepted Job Meant for Black and Brown Minorities as an Indian-American - AITA?

AITA for accepting a job intended for "black and brown minorities" as an Indian-American? Workplace drama unfolds as OP questions their actions.

Damjan

Published in Interesting
26 Dec 2025

Accepted Job Meant for Black and Brown Minorities as an Indian-American - AITA?

In a world increasingly focused on diversity and representation, one Reddit user finds themselves at the center of a heated debate about identity and inclusion. The original poster (OP), an Indian-American, applied for a job that explicitly stated its aim to hire "black and brown minorities." After successfully navigating the interview process, they were offered the position, only to later learn that some colleagues felt their hiring contradicted the company's diversity goals.

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This post raises a multitude of questions about labels and identity. Can someone of Indian descent be classified as a "brown minority"?

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What does it mean for companies to prioritize diversity, and at what point does it veer into tokenism? The OP is now grappling with feelings of guilt and uncertainty, wondering if they unintentionally stepped into a role meant for underrepresented groups.

As the thread unfolds, users weigh in on the complexities of identity, representation, and workplace ethics. Some argue that the OP meets the company's criteria, while others raise concerns about the implications of hiring practices based on race.

What do you think? Is the OP in the wrong for accepting the position, or does their experience highlight deeper issues within corporate diversity initiatives?

Join the discussion and share your thoughts!

Original Post

I applied for a job 2 months ago at a large company that stated in the job description that it was trying to "improve diversity" by "hiring black and brown minorities." I had a slight feeling that they might be referring to hispanic people when they wrote "brown", but because the job posting didn't elaborate and because the job paid a lot better than my job at the time, I still applied. During the job interview, the hiring manager squinted at my name and frowned a little bit before asking what my heritage was.

I told him very straightforwardly that I was Indian-American (as in the subcontinent in Asia). He nodded his head a little bit, and the rest of the interview went very well.

3 weeks ago, I was contacted by him again and offered a job. I accepted, and a week after that, I began to work directly under him.

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But today I heard from the office gossip that my position was supposed to be for "y'know... brown, brown people...

under-represented minorities" i.e. not Indian-Americans, and that human resources was upset with my boss for hiring me.

I feel a little bad, I guess, but my boss was so impressed with my resume and the interview that he thought I should get the job anyways. I don't know, am I the a*****e here?

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