South Asian leadership and DEI expert Ritu Bhasin is issuing a blunt call to her own community: acknowledge the anti-Black racism happening in workplaces and stop it.
In a new video shared on Instagram, Bhasin said she has been hearing a “consistent and troubling” pattern from Black professionals who report racist treatment from South Asian colleagues, particularly those in positions of power.
“Anti-Blackness permeates South Asian cultures,” she said, adding that the issue shows up vividly in leadership roles where South Asians often benefit from racial equity efforts Black professionals paved the way for—only to perpetuate anti-Black behavior themselves.
Bhasin noted that many South Asians rise in corporate ranks thanks to decades of advocacy from Black workers who pushed companies to address racism and expand opportunities for people of color. Yet some of those same leaders then “reinforce” bias once they reach positions of authority.
“First of all, so many South Asians in the workplace benefit from the hard work that Black professionals put in to interrupt racism that people of color experience in the workplace, but they are not the ones who are benefiting from this hard work,” she said.
Black employees, she said, have been approaching her for guidance on how to cope with racist supervisors, managers, and team leads of South Asian descent. The frequency of the stories, she added, is alarming.
“It is a theme,” Bhasin said. “It is so prevalent in the workplace and so problematic on so many fronts.”
Her message, she stressed, is a call-in, not a public shaming. According to her, the now-viral post is a push for South Asians to look inward, acknowledge uncomfortable truths, and rebuild workplace culture with humility and accountability.
Bhasin said the first step is naming what many avoid:
- Anti-Black racism runs deep in South Asian communities
- It shapes how South Asians show up at work—especially as leaders
- And it must be interrupted intentionally and urgently
Her plea to South Asian professionals was clear: “We must do better. We must work actively to interrupt how anti-Black racism lives in our culture.”
The conversation, she said, is long overdue.
