Big brands like H&M, Adidas, Gap are entangled in China's brutal campaign against Uighur Muslim minority

a post by Xeni Jardin for the Boing Boing blog



“Officials have gathered up more than 4,000 residents over the past two years for deradicalization and textile-making courses.”

An important and difficult read in the Wall Street Journal today [16 May] about the Chinese government's indoctrination camps for the Muslim Uighur minority, and how those concentration camps provide essentially slave labor for factories that supply big Western brands like H&M, Adidas, Gap -- even Kraft Heinz, the ketchup makers.

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Not welcome here: Discrimination towards women who wear the Muslim headscarf

an article by Sonia Ghumman (University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA) and Ann Marie Ryan (Michigan State University, USA) published in Human Relations Volume 66 Number 5 (May 2013)

Abstract

This study addresses discrimination that individuals who wear religious attire encounter during the hiring process.

We build from the relational demography literature and contemporary research on discrimination in the workplace to propose possible discriminatory effects against Hijabis (Muslim women who wear the headscarf). Specifically, we conduct a field experiment in which confederates portraying Hijabis or not applied for jobs at stores and restaurants.

Evidence for formal discrimination (job call backs, permission to complete application), interpersonal discrimination (perceived negativity, perceived interest), and low expectations to receive job offers in the workplace was found for Hijabi confederates.

Furthermore, Hijabis were less likely to receive call backs when there was low employee diversity compared to when there was high employee diversity.

Implications of these findings with regards to Hijabis and organisations are discussed.

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Muslim women’s workplace experiences: implications for strategic diversity initiatives

an article by Terrie C. Reeves (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA), Arlise P. McKinney (Coastal Carolina University, Conway, USA) and Laila Azam, (Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) published in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal Volume 32 Issue 1 (2013)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Muslim women’s decisions to wear headscarves, known as hijab, in the workplace. The decision to wear hijab may result in a stigmatised identity, so the paper also aims to examine perceived or experienced discrimination and impact on employment outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative methodology to capture nuances, the study was based on demographic responses and semi-structured interview questions by 79 Muslim women physicians and other healthcare professionals.

Findings
The paper finds that many factors influenced their decisions, but Muslim women had a wide variety of views in terms of the hijab and adherence to Islamic precepts. Those who wear hijab reported negative experiences of intolerance and discrimination. The decision to wear hijab was subsequently associated with perceived discrimination that would limit one’s employment opportunities.

Practical implications
Religion is one diversity categorisation that can be invisible yet still has a significant impact on workers and their engagement in the workplace. Organisations engaged in strategic diversity initiatives may need to better understand specific nuances of diversity concerning religious expression and the potential psychological toll hiding those expressions may have on workers. The paper's findings have implications for personnel selection, training, and managing interpersonal relationships in the workplace.

Originality/value
Religious expression is an under-studied workplace diversity facet, especially when disclosing religion is a choice that may result in being stigmatised. There has been research on workplace treatment of Muslims and the influences of spirituality, but no research that examined the decision to wear hijab and the associated workplace consequences.

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