Covering in the Workplace
The literature covering Muslim Women in the workplace and in academia exposes themes of discrimination and isolation. A policy brief from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding discusses some statistics for employment discrimination.
It states that complaints of "unlawful discrimination against Muslim employees more than doubled from 697 in 2004 to 1490 in 2009; 425 were filed by Muslim women, many of whom donned a headscarf” (Aziz 14).
The report asserts that women may feel unwelcome, and even if not terminated might experience slurs and challenges. This data gives a more general overview of the data around discrimination, but numbers cannot tell the individual stories of the women that experienced this discrimination, and how it impacts them.
More recently, a 2015 New York Times article provides a play by play analysis for a 2015 Supreme Court case about wearing a hijab in the workplace (Liptak, 2015). The article explains how the Supreme Court supported Samantha Elauf in a case against Abercrombie & Fitch. Abercrombie and Fitch failed to hire her at age 17 on the basis of her head scarf’s incompatibility with their dress code. The court ruled that this was considered a case of religious discrimination, because the employer had to at least suspect that she wore the hijab for religious reasons, even if she did not specifically request a religious accommodation.
This case was hailed as key to protecting Muslims and other religious minorities from employment discrimination. The case itself displays a prominent example of discrimination based on covering, which could potentially impact the decision of women to cover. Based on the research question “What does it mean for Muslim Women to cover in America?,” the existence of this case might provide the answer: it means that they are not welcome in some companies because of workplace dress codes. However, the ruling of the court, along with the widespread coverage of it in this major U.S. publication, suggests that this discrimination is not welcome and should not become common place in the United States.
More recently, a 2015 New York Times article provides a play by play analysis for a 2015 Supreme Court case about wearing a hijab in the workplace (Liptak, 2015). The article explains how the Supreme Court supported Samantha Elauf in a case against Abercrombie & Fitch. Abercrombie and Fitch failed to hire her at age 17 on the basis of her head scarf’s incompatibility with their dress code. The court ruled that this was considered a case of religious discrimination, because the employer had to at least suspect that she wore the hijab for religious reasons, even if she did not specifically request a religious accommodation.
This case was hailed as key to protecting Muslims and other religious minorities from employment discrimination. The case itself displays a prominent example of discrimination based on covering, which could potentially impact the decision of women to cover. Based on the research question “What does it mean for Muslim Women to cover in America?,” the existence of this case might provide the answer: it means that they are not welcome in some companies because of workplace dress codes. However, the ruling of the court, along with the widespread coverage of it in this major U.S. publication, suggests that this discrimination is not welcome and should not become common place in the United States.
Covering in Academia
Shifting towards analysis of Muslim Women in the academic environment, a 2014 blog post by a Hijabi Muslim woman in higher education discusses the reading she has been doing about women of color in academia and the unwelcoming culture and doubt they face (Tasnim). She particularly speaks to her experience of being lonely in academia, because there are no other hijabi woman around her, and her assertion that Muslim women are underrepresented in higher academia. Though this account only focuses on the experience of one woman, it importantly comes from the direct voice of a Muslim woman, which the aforementioned pieces of literature do not.
In our research, we are especially focussing on the experiences of Rice students which makes “Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity” by Dr. Shabana Mir a very relevant source. This book is, according to the author’s Twitter (@ShabanaMir1), “the first ethnography of Muslim American Students.” This type of study prioritizes and directly includes the voices of those being studied by featuring quotes from the women. Her research touches on the impact of social concerns, such as alcohol, clothes, and dating, within the undergraduate experience of Muslim women (Mir 23). Though she went into her research expecting to sort her work into more analytical categories like gender and pluralism, she found these other themes to be important for navigating Muslim-American identity.
The book speaks to how covering contributes to the level of stigmatization students receive and to what level they can achieve conformity (Mir 37). Mir tells the story of a student named Heather who faced racialization in the classroom from a professor who also questioned her level of religiosity based on her lack of hijab, further asserting that there are assumptions about what makes a ‘good Muslim’ (Mir 95). The examples and analysis in the book provide a lens into the life of American Muslim female students in a way similar to what this study hopes to achieve, and lays the groundwork of studying and interviewing this particular population. Research by Allison Yelvington |
Liptak, Adam. “Muslim Woman Denied Job Over Head Scarf Wins in Supreme Court.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 June 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/us/supreme-court-rules-in-samantha-elauf-abercrombie-fitch-case.html?mcubz=0.
Tasnim. “Peace in Aloneness: Muslim Women in the Ivory Tower.” Muslimah Media Watch, 7 Dec. 2014, www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2014/12/peace-in-aloneness-muslim-women-in-the-ivory-tower/.
Mir, Shabana. Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity . Univ Of North Carolina Press, 2014.
Tasnim. “Peace in Aloneness: Muslim Women in the Ivory Tower.” Muslimah Media Watch, 7 Dec. 2014, www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2014/12/peace-in-aloneness-muslim-women-in-the-ivory-tower/.
Mir, Shabana. Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity . Univ Of North Carolina Press, 2014.