When I joined Microsoft, there was an undercurrent among the Indian engineers and programmers. We were aware that despite our contributions, there had yet to be one of us promoted to vice president, a rank that recognizes a leader as an officer of the company. We could get to a certain level but not beyond. In fact, a senior executive, long since gone from the company, once told another Indian colleague that it was because of our accents—an idea as derogatory as it is outdated. It was the 1990s and I was surprised to hear such bias within such a leading-edge company, especially one led by and
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VPs despite the well-known top performance of so many Indian engineers and managers. It was not until 2000 that myself and a few other Indians were promoted to the executive ranks.
