Bengaluru-based entrepreneur and CEO Karthik SG has doubled down on his controversial decision to not hire male candidates from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, saying the policy followed the alleged misconduct of a former employee.
In a follow-up post on X, Karthik said the controversy began around two weeks ago when an employee from one of the four states was fired.
CEO cites alleged misconduct with women employees
Karthik claimed the employee had been warned twice but continued to behave abusively towards female employees. He further alleged that the employee had "forced himself" on one of the women. These are allegations made by Karthik in his social media posts and have not been independently established based on the information available.
"We work with quite young kids," Karthik wrote, before questioning whether men with what he described as such an "ideology and mindset" should be given an opportunity.
His initial post announcing the hiring restriction had already triggered a sharp debate online, with some users supporting his stated focus on workplace safety while others arguing that the alleged conduct of one employee should not be used to exclude male candidates from entire states.
Karthik responds to criticism
In his latest post, Karthik also addressed the responses to his earlier statement.
He claimed that many Indians had become "highly insecure and egoistic" and were unwilling to acknowledge problems within society. He criticised what he described as "whataboutery", where people respond to criticism by pointing to similar incidents elsewhere.
Karthik referred to sociology and said societies progress faster when they acknowledge shortcomings and work towards correcting them. He added that he believed Indian society had stopped doing so.
He also questioned why, according to him, around 85-90 per cent of the replies to his earlier post were coming from Bihar. This figure is his own observation from the responses he received and has not been independently verified.
CEO says company believes in equal opportunity
Karthik also sought to address criticism that his decision contradicted the company's approach to equal opportunity.
He said his company has 32 employees, including 14 women. He added that 20 employees are from other states, with 12 coming from non-South Indian states.
He also said the workforce includes people from different religious backgrounds, including Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Buddhist employees.
"We believe in equal opportunity, be it Gender, religion, caste or creed," he wrote.
"All I want to do is show a mirror"
Explaining his position further, Karthik said his intention was to "show a mirror" to people who, in his view, do not value human lives or respect women and children.
He also responded to criticism about his own state, saying that he was aware that problems existed there as well.
"Yes we know there are problems also, no place is white as a paper. But here we accept it and try to correct it. Offenders are behind bars," he wrote.
The CEO ended the follow-up post by saying he would not continue the discussion.
The controversy continues to centre on the question of whether concerns arising from an individual employee's alleged conduct can justify a broader hiring restriction based on a candidate's state of origin. Karthik has defended his decision by citing workplace safety, while critics have questioned the use of a blanket restriction covering male candidates from four states.
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