Survey reveals NRIs face dual burden: Racism from non-Indians and regional bias within Indian diaspora

Hyderabad: Around 44% of Indians living and working abroad who participated in a survey said they have faced unfair treatment because of their race, according to a new survey by Blind, the anonymous community app for verified professionals. The survey, conducted on November 28, 2025, covered 1,087 verified Non-Resident Indian (NRI) professionals, a majority of whom are based in the United States. Blind, which has over 13 million verified professionals worldwide, allows users to engage in candid workplace conversations across companies and industries.

Reports of racial discrimination were especially prevalent among employees at two top tech companies where response rates exceeded 50%, as per the survey details shared by Blind to DH. The remaining respondents were divided that 26% acknowledged that bias exists but it doesn’t really affect career, and 30% said it is exaggerated and not a real issue.

Regional identity emerged as the second most reported form of bias after race, with respondents noting distinctions between North and South Indian backgrounds as a recurring source of discrimination. The findings suggest that NRIs face a dual burden: racial bias from outside communities and prejudice within the Indian diaspora itself. Other reported forms of bias included age, gender, and caste.

When asked how discrimination affected their careers, 44% said it influenced performance evaluations or promotion opportunities. Additionally, 21% reported experiencing social exclusion or subtle ostracism, while smaller groups cited job interviews and layoffs as areas where bias surfaced.

Despite these experiences, most respondents did not escalate or formally reported the issue. 72% said they took no action, while 21% chose to leave their company because of discrimination. Only a small minority engaged official channels, with 6% reporting the issue to HR or leadership and 1% pursuing formal complaints or legal action.

Outcomes also showed limited progress. 57% said the situation did not improve, and 23% reported that it worsened after action (or inaction). Only 20% indicated that taking action led to improvement.

A verified professional from an automobile manufacturing giant pushed back against narratives framing the issue as resentment toward Indian H1B workers. “It is not racist to point out that majority of these visas go to Indians. That is fair and valid. It is racist to however hating on individual Indians instead of blaming the systems, laws, and corporations that all enable it,” the respondent said.

Another respondent, a verified Google professional pointed out that bias isn’t always external, adding “In my experience, issues don’t always stem from race. Sometimes they come from cultural or regional biases within the same country. Being Indian myself, I’ve actually had more challenges working with other Indians because of micro-management or favoritism.”

Methodology

A poll titled “Is racism against Indians real or overblown?” was conducted on Blind on November 28, 2025 and received responses from 1,418 participants. For the purpose of this analysis, Blind team said results were filtered to include only respondents who self-identified as Indian and were residing outside India at the time of participation. Respondents who selected “I’m not Indian” or whose geolocation was identified as India were excluded. The final dataset consisted of 1,087 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).

Participants were asked a series of multiple-choice questions.

1. Is racism against Indians real or overblown?
- Yes, I've been unfairly evaluated or treated because of my race: 44%
- Bias exists, but it doesn’t really affect career: 26%
- No, this is exaggerated and not a real issue: 30%

2. What was the main bias or discrimination you experienced?
- Race: 28%
- Regional background (South / North): 16%
- Age: 13%
- Gender: 10%
- Caste: 7%
I haven’t experienced any discrimination: 26%

3. Did this discrimination impact your career in any of the following ways?
- Promotions or performance evaluations: 44%
- Social isolation or subtle ostracism: 21%
- Job interviews: 8%
- Layoffs: 6%
- No impact: 21%

4. How did you respond?
- Didn’t take any action: 72%
- Left the company because of it: 21%
- Reported it to HR or leadership: 6%
- Filed a formal complaint or took legal action: 1%

5. Did the situation improve after you took (or didn’t take) action?
- No: 57%
- It got worse: 23%
- Yes: 20%

NRI respondents country wise:

United States 83.45%

Canada 4.77%
South America 0.96%
Europe 6.44%
Asia (ex. India) 2.39%
Australia 0.72%