Abstract
ABSTRACT:This article examines the issue of gender equality within Islam in order to develop an ethical framework for businesses operating in Muslim majority countries. We pay attention to the role of women and seemingly inconsistent expectations of Islamic and Western societies with regard to appropriate gender roles. In particular, we contrast a mainstream Western liberal individualist view of freedom and equality—the capability approach, used here as an illustration of mainstream Western liberalism—with an egalitarian Islamic view on gender equality. While the article identifies an opportunity for this particular approach to reform patriarchal interpretations and practices of Islam toward gender egalitarian interpretations and practices, it also contests the notions of adaptation and well-being inherent within the capability approach. We suggest that a dialectical approach to understanding the relationships among religion, culture, and business provides a better guide to responsible business action in Muslim Majority countries than does the capability approach.
Highlights
ISSUES RELATED TO GENDER DISCRIMINATIONare important for organ izations (Karam & Jamali, 2013; Kelan, 2008; Mayer & Cava, 1993; Özbilgin, Syed, Ali, & Torunoglu, 2012; Young, 1990)
We seek to explore the issue of gender equality within Islam in order to develop an ethical framework for businesses operating in Muslim majority countries (MMCs)
We turn to a critique of the capability approach and offer a dialectical approach to analyzing the role of women within Islam, with particular attention to what our analysis indicates for businesses seeking to act ethically within an Islamic context
Summary
ISSUES RELATED TO GENDER DISCRIMINATIONare important for organ izations (Karam & Jamali, 2013; Kelan, 2008; Mayer & Cava, 1993; Özbilgin, Syed, Ali, & Torunoglu, 2012; Young, 1990). Organizations operating in the United States and Europe, for example, face broadly agreed upon norms that support equal opportunity for women. There are myriad variations that can and do occur with regard to gender roles within and across countries It might be possible, for example, to develop a framework in which women have equal access to employment opportunities, if they choose them, while playing a more subordinate role to men within the household, a situation which is common among American evangelical Christians (Gallagher & Smith, 1999). We seek to explore the issue of gender equality within Islam in order to develop an ethical framework for businesses operating in MMCs. Our focus is on the role of women and seemingly contradictory expectations of Islamic and nonIslamic societies with regard to appropriate gender roles. We conclude with a discussion of implications for practice and future research
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