Faith and Diversity: Making Room for Muslims in the Western World
by Susan Welch, Hewitt Research —
The workforce is changing in countless ways, and one new—fairly significant—change can be added to the mix. Muslims are a growing part of the workforce, in countries around the world. A new book describes the increasing Muslim presence: Forces of Fortune: The Rise of the New Muslim Middle Class and What It Will Mean for Our World by Vali Nasr, a professor at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University. The book details how Muslim entrepreneurs revived Turkey’s economy and built the “skyscraper economy” of Dubai. According to Nasr, middle class Muslims are business-oriented, and, at a macro level, may offer a gateway to building bridges to the parts of the Arab world in conflict with the West.
Details on Muslim workers are difficult to pin down, but in Europe Muslims represent an estimated 16 to 20 percent of the workforce.[1] Because Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion[2], numbers everywhere are expected to rise over time. For example, in only a four year span in the United Kingdom, the Muslim population grew at a rate 10 times faster than the overall population growth rate.[3]
Attendant with a growing Muslim workforce are several challenges: general discrimination issues, religion, dress code, and ensuring a strong pipeline of workers.
General Discrimination: In the United States, 58 percent of Muslims polled said they’d experienced discrimination since 9/11. It’s no wonder, given that 40 percent of Americans reported having a negative view of Muslims. More specifically, violence and discrimination against Muslims increased 70 percent between 2002 and 2004.[4] The problem in Europe stems more from class distinction. In the United States, Muslims tend to be middle class professionals, whereas in Europe they are working class or poor. They are thus isolated or alienated from society.[5] Employer awareness of these challenges can help ease issues in the workplace.
Religion: More than three-fourths of American Muslims reported being at least somewhat troubled by religious bias at work [6]some of it reflected by an ignorance of Islamic holidays. Few non-Islamic people recognize that Ramadan is the Islamic calendar’s ninth month, designated the month of fasting. Fewer still realize that the concluding day of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, is a festival celebrating an end to the fast.[7]The other significant Muslim holiday is Eid al-Adha, a festival commemorating the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. It falls on the day after hundreds of thousands of Muslims complete their annual pilgrimage to Mecca.[8] By offering a more flexible holiday schedule, employers can help.
On a daily basis, the Muslim faith also presents workforce challenges. Devout Muslims pray, facing Mecca, five times a day. On Friday, the noon prayer is also accompanied by sermon, requiring a bit more time. Employers can, when possible, accommodate prayer by providing a quiet, private spot, minimizing disruptions while still supporting prayer. A best practice is to offer this option to anyonem regardless of their faith, a place for reflection and prayer.
Dress code: Muslim men may wear skull caps or turbans, and sport beards. Women often wear head scarves. Employer dress codes that can bend, while still ensuring meeting certain workplace needs, will help. Communicating openly about dress may also be necessary, particularly if some workers may be unsettled to see women wearing head scarves.
Worker pipeline: Immigration, birth, and conversion are increasing Muslim populations around the world at a fast rate. In most of the West, young Muslims have at least some access to education. But in the Arab world, the story is dramatically different. Roughly 20 percent of Arab children are not in school (60 percent of these are girls); on average illiteracy throughout the region is 30 percent but can be 50 to 60 percent in some countries. Overall, Arab students attend school for less than half the time their Asian counterparts attend school.[9] Multinationals can extend their influence into the Arab world by urging higher and more consistent educational standards.
As always, employers who live out the principles of the inclusion paradox in the workforce can strengthen their talent pipeline, in this case, with the growing population of Muslim workers.
[1]Shabeeb, Nabil. “Muslims in Greater Europe.” IslamOnline.net. July 1, 2004. Link: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout&cid=1156077742293
[2]“The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions.” Foreign Policy online. May, 2007. Link: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835
[3]Kerbaj, Richard. “Muslim population ‘rising 10 times faster than rest of society.”” Times Online. January 30, 2009. Link: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835
[4]“Western Muslim Minorities: Integration and Disenfranchisement.” CAIR Policy Bulletin. April 2006. Link: http://sun.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/policy_bulletin_Integration_in_the_West.pdf
[5]“Western Muslim Minorities: Integration and Disenfranchisement.” CAIR Policy Bulletin. April 2006. Link: http://sun.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/policy_bulletin_Integration_in_the_West.pdf
[6] Adams, Marc. “Showing Good Faith Towards Muslims.” HR Magazineonline. November, 2000. Link: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_11_45/ai_67449042/
[7]Hartman, Holly. “Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.” FactMonster.com. Link: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/ramadan1.html
[8]“Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice)”. Holidayyear.com. Link: http://holidayyear.com/holidays/eid-al-adha.html
[9]Salem, Paul. “Education is the most powerful weapon.” Guardian.co.uk. October 28, 2009. Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/oct/28/education-arab-world-islam
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Author: Susan Welch
Susan Welch is a senior researcher at Hewitt Associates.
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