A relational perspective comparison of workplace discrimination toward Muslims in Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority countries

Abstract

Research on discrimination and inequality has seen a significant increase in workplace religious discrimination toward Muslims. However, it is not well understood how macro-societal, meso-organizational and micro-individual factors contribute to workplace discrimination toward Muslims. Using a systematic literature review (SLR), this study analyses 134 articles to frame a comparative lens of discrimination toward Muslims in Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority countries. This study reveals different discrimination patterns in both country types. In Muslim-minority countries, only the macro-societal level factors are consistently linked to blatant discrimination form while the other two levels (meso-organizational and micro-individual) contribute towards a mixture of blatant and subtle discrimination incidents. Meanwhile, Muslim-majority countries' discrimination cases specifically occur towards women in subtle manners at each level. The different discrimination patterns in the two country types also leads to other notions such as the logic of in-group discrimination toward Muslim women in Muslim-majority countries and the repositioning of gender and religious identities.