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The No-Sari Zone: South Asian Women at Work

A real nice article about South Asian Working Women in USA:HBS Working Knowledge: HBS Conference Coverage: The No-Sari Zone: South Asian Women at Work

About Shahla Aly from Pakistan:

For three months, she said, she proceeded through a series of dead-end interviews. No one would hire her. She was starting to get depressed and couldn't figure out what she was doing wrong.

In the fourth month, an interviewer told her, gingerly, "I think you'd be a wonderful fit for this company...but I do have one quick question to ask you, and it's rather personal."

Not feeling she had much of a choice, Aly agreed. The question was, "Do you plan to dress the way you're dressed today every day to work?"

"I thought he was complimenting me, and I said, 'Yes! I have so many saris like this.' Need I tell you that he didn't say anything back, but his eyes told me everything."

"If you want to make a statement for change [by your clothing], you're not going to succeed in corporate America"

"You have to adapt: As Shahla just said, you have to figure out what you are willing to change and what you're not willing to change."