| All Women | Muslim Women of the Muslim Diaspora in Western countries | Muslim Women in Muslim Majority Cultures |
Macro Level Positive Trends Negative Trends | Government policies favour & firms recognise women’s strengths Glass ceiling remains, women not adequately represented in leading firms; discrimination still marked | Western countries (e.g. UK) has Equal Opportunity law Law (e.g. UK) not enforced | Islam empowers women, extends “family strength” to “occupational strength” Patriarchy may prevail, undermining Islamic principles, preventing women’s entry to university/employment |
Meso Level Positive Trends Negative Trends | Positive hiring by some firms in some countries, reflects both individual and national policies Discrimination by firms in many countries, despite national policies | Public sector employers do not discriminate? Many private sector firms will not hire Muslim women: intersectional coincidence of denial of jobs to women, & to Muslims | Some firms recruit “excellent” women employees, give good WLB benefits Patriarchal managers deny promotion beyond certain levels; glass ceiling remains; women pushed into specialist roles but denied full leadership |
Micro Level Positive Trends Negative Trends | Unique examples of positive hiring in some firms/sectors Some firms/sectors fail to recruit/promote women for idiosyncratic or cultural reasons | Muslim women’s mutual support groups Some Muslim women forced to stay home due to patriarchal, non-Islamic values of male family members | Some firms have good hiring profiles for women. Most firms operate patriarchal values, male-centred non-hiring or non-promoting of women |
Net Results | At least a 75% of top companies have no women in senior roles | Muslim women forced to stay at home; and Muslim men discriminated against too, with poverty level status for many | Many women remain as (strong) child carers and home educators; some have brief work experience before becoming full-time family managers. Very few Muslim women senior managers exist |