A woman who goes by the name Swathi V, a resident of Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam, has alleged that she was rejected from a job interview because her face “lacked glow.” Swathi took to Instagram and shared her ordeal through a reel, which has now gone viral and evoked a plethora of responses. Swathi – who chose not to reveal the name of the company, asserted that the incident took place at an English-speaking training centre in the southern state on April 22.After applying for a position at the institute, she was called for an interview. Following the interview, she was informed that she had been selected and was asked to return the next day.Excited for her new job, she went back to the institute, and everything seemed positive. She was reportedly being explained about the work, and everything was “smooth,” she said.”However, on my next visit, a senior lady at the institution, who had probably been observing me during the process, called me into a cabin for a private conversation. There, she told me that I was ‘not well-groomed,’ ‘not welcoming enough,’ that I had a ‘fake smile,’ and — most painfully — that my ‘face lacked the glow’ they were looking for,” Swathi said.”While she insisted it was not about my skin colour, in South Indian contexts, ‘glow’ often implies being fair-skinned. Her comments made it very clear that my darker complexion was seen as a negative. It was devastating to be judged not for my capabilities or character, but for my appearance — something I cannot and should not have to change,” she added.The incident resurfaced painful childhood memories when she had been discriminated against because of her skin colour, she claimed in the video.In the video, the text on the screen reads: “Not qualified? No, just not light-skinned enough. I didn’t lose the job. My skin did. Rejected because of my skin colour. The struggle is real.” The viral video, shared on Instagram on the account ‘lifeofswa’ one day ago, has received 3.3 million views from social media users.Many users were quick to react to the viral video. One user wrote, “Don’t cry, princess, you are the best.” “Better hire a model and pay her enough? Ohh, they can’t!! Don’t be shy to call out these companies!!! Like it’s 2025 and people are still considering skin colour a requirement for a job?” a second user added. “All I heard from this reel is that the interviewer wants a person who is welcoming and approachable, and it has nothing to do with the skin. I heard you say that the interviewer said it’s not about your skin colour, so you should not make it such a big issue. I wish you get a good job and all the best wishes for it,” added a third user.
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