A young woman who joined a startup in Bengaluru as a UX design intern has shared her painful experience of harassment and humiliation at work. Her story has now gone viral after she opened up about the inappropriate and sexist treatment she faced from the company’s CEO.
In a Reddit post by @akclone, she shared her story and how things quickly went wrong.
Harassment at Bengaluru startup
According to the post, in her final year of a Master’s degree, she moved to Bengaluru for what seemed like a dream role – being the only designer, working directly with the CEO.
During her internship, the CEO publicly questioned whether she had come “to work or enjoy with your boyfriend” and claimed she didn’t do any real work.
The intern was deeply embarrassed but asked for another chance, and later secured a full-time role.
Things got worse after that. When she requested work-from-home days to finish her college project, the CEO refused and later shouted at her in front of the entire team, blaming her for the company’s struggles. She said he often only targeted women and would humiliate them in public.
In another shocking moment, when she was sitting away from the team to avoid sexist jokes, the CEO asked her, “Porn dekh rahi ho kya?” (Are you watching porn?), leaving her stunned.
Check out the post here:
Things worsened when she asked about appraisals. The CEO told her she was no longer needed as a designer and could only stay if she brought in business. He said she was “not built to grow.”
Eventually, she quit. Though hurt and shaken, she said she finally felt free. The experience, she added, broke her confidence and left her struggling to feel worthy again.
Here’s how people reacted to the post:
One of the users, @Appropriate-ASS-824, commented, “I mean no one deserves such a humiliation whether you are a top performer or the worst performer. Name and shame I would say”.
Another user, @Rx_Kid, commented, “I thought one more EY story Thank God No”.”
Many people have praised her for speaking up and sharing her painful experience. She now encourages others not to stay silent or keep proving their worth in places where they are disrespected.