The Hijab-Effect Extended: Citizens’ Reflections on Professionalism and Empathy in Public Service

Abstract

Given the political debates that religious symbols, such as a hijab, are often undesired in public employment, we ask if reflections on empathy or professionalism by citizens mitigate potential negative perceptions about public servants who wear a hijab. We conducted a two-step 2×3 between-subjects experiment (n = 2,680) where reflection tasks on empathy and professionalism were combined for a public servant wearing or not wearing a hijab. In a first step, the effect of a hijab was tested on perceived professionalism and empathy, while in a second step, the effect was estimated of type of reflection, as well as the answer to the reflection, on citizens’ performance during public services. We find no evidence that wearing a hijab influences citizens' perceptions or performance. However, the reflection answer with respect to professionalism or empathy is positively related to citizens’ performance. We frame these results in the intersection of the literature on public servant and religious stereotyping.