Abstract
The current context of growing religious and cultural diversity requires, from societies, an adequate management of the expression of religious diversity in different social spheres, including the workplace. Muslim women who wear the hijab are one of the social groups that most frequently suffer prejudice and discrimination in work settings due to the intersection of multiple forms of discrimination, including gender, ethnic origin, religion and the use of a visible religious symbol. With the aim of exploring the experiences of Muslim women with hijab and identifying barriers and opportunities in their access to employment in Catalonia (Spain), a qualitative study with a communicative orientation was conducted, involving twelve communicative daily-life stories with Muslim women who wear the hijab and eleven in-depth interviews with a communicative orientation with other relevant actors in the fields of training and employment (employers, managers of internship programs, political representatives, etc.). The findings revealed some pending challenges and effective pathways to improve the employment and social inclusion of Muslim women wearing the hijab. The implications of the study point to the need to incorporate respect for diversity as a necessary value to move towards more inclusive societies.
Highlights
Given the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity in the European context, the different states must address the claim to accommodate the expression of a wide variety of religious beliefs and practices in different social spheres [1] in order to ensure social cohesion and inclusion for all citizens
In order to contribute to this research field, the present study aimed to explore the career paths and work experiences of a group of Muslim women who wear the hijab in Catalonia (Spain) in order to identify the barriers they face at the time of accessing a job, as well as the opportunities for their professional and social inclusion
Prior research pointed to the difficulties experienced by minority religious communities in advancing their academic careers and accessing employment, with a special focus on Muslim women wearing the hijab [9,13,18], which are one of the social groups most at risk of suffering unemployment or underemployment [15] in Western societies due to the intersection of multiple forms of discrimination, related to gender, ethnic origin and the use of visible religious symbols
Summary
Ethnic and religious diversity in the European context, the different states must address the claim to accommodate the expression of a wide variety of religious beliefs and practices in different social spheres [1] in order to ensure social cohesion and inclusion for all citizens. Along with the need to adequately accommodate distinctive religious practices in public spaces. In this regard, the need to advance in the definition of tools and frameworks to regulate and manage religious diversity in employment is receiving growing attention in research and policy [5]. Religious expression in the workplace can take more or less explicit forms, including speaking about one’s beliefs, praying in public spaces, requesting accommodations for religious practice, abstaining from particular behaviors such as drinking or eating
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