New Delhi, July 8 -- Last week a 32-year-old Indian man working in the US posted on social media platform Reddit about an incident of harassment he had faced at work. Although by no means uniquely awful, it quickly hit a nerve and went viral.

"Today, during a meeting, I asked a team member (about 55 years old) for a project update as part of my regular responsibilities. He told me to stop speaking in meetings because he couldn't understand my accent," he wrote. Sharing that he "felt dismissed and insulted" by the comment, he threw out an open question to fellow Reddit users. "How do you deal with something like this professionally without letting it damage your confidence or your contributions?"

The responses ranged from outrage to urgi...