ABSTRACT

This study tested the hypothesis that Muslim women who wear the hijab are disadvantaged in employment processes relative to their counterparts who do not wear the hijab. A meta-analysis synthesized the findings of seven studies published between 2010 and 2020. The sample-weighted, pooled estimate among the most internally valid, experimental studies suggested that the chances of being hired and so gainfully employed were 40% lower among Muslim women wearing the hijab than they were among, otherwise similar, Muslim women not wearing the hijab: relative risk (RR) = 0.60 within a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.54, 0.67. This religion-based discrimination effect was deemed hugely significant in human, public health and policy senses. Immigration trends suggest that millions of Muslim women in the west likely experienced such employment discrimination over the past generation, and millions more are bound to similarly suffer over the next generation if policy status quos are retained. It seems that much of the relatively greater employment discrimination experienced by Muslim women who wear the hijab is due largely to potential employers' prejudicial reactions to the hijab itself. Practice and policy implications and future research needs are discussed.

摘要

这项研究检验了这样一个假设，即戴头巾的穆斯林妇女相对于不戴头巾的女性在就业过程中处于不利地位。一项荟萃分析综合了 2010 年至 2020 年间发表的七项研究的结果。内部最有效的实验研究中的样本加权汇总估计表明，穿着西装的穆斯林女性被雇用和获得有酬工作的机会要低 40%戴头巾的女性与不戴头巾的穆斯林女性相比，其他方面相似：相对风险 (RR) = 0.60，95% 置信区间 (CI) 为 0.54, 0.67。这种基于宗教的歧视效应被认为在人类、公共卫生和政策意义上非常重要。移民趋势表明，西方数百万穆斯林妇女可能在上一代经历过这种就业歧视，如果政策现状保持不变，下一代必然会遭受同样的痛苦。戴头巾的穆斯林妇女所经历的相对较大的就业歧视似乎很大程度上是由于潜在雇主对头巾本身的偏见反应。讨论了实践和政策影响以及未来的研究需求。对头巾本身的偏见反应。讨论了实践和政策影响以及未来的研究需求。对头巾本身的偏见反应。讨论了实践和政策影响以及未来的研究需求。