British Muslim women more vulnerable to unemployment than no-Muslims

A report by the British House of Commons has shown that Muslim women are the most economically vulnerable and disadvantaged class of British society. The House’s Committee on Women and Equality revealed that the number of women liable to unemployment or looking for jobs is nearly threefold their men peers, while the proportion is twofold for economically inactive women. According to the report, the disparity is real, for as the current rate of British employed women stands at 69%, against 35% for Muslim women. The level of jobless or job seeking women on the national level recorded 5%, whereas the percentage among Muslim women was close to 16%. The flagrant difference, the report went on to say, was mostly visible in the level of so-termed economically inactive British women, and they are specifically the unemployed but not on the lookout for jobs or women in general (not less than 27%, and 58% for Muslim women in particular). The report also indicated that nearly half of the inactive Muslim women prefer their current status which is inspired by a desire to stay at home, against a national rate (16%) of inactive women with the same urge. On reasons behind such discrepencies, the House’s Committee on Women pointed out that a large number of British Muslim women face a triple punishment influencing their work expectations, firstly, because they are women, secondly, from an ethnic minority and thirdly because they are Muslims. The major cause for that “grave” deprivation felt by British Muslim women is their religious background, the Committee maintained, noting the “impact of the Islamophobia phenomenon which should not be underestimated.” In conclusion, MPs members of the Committee underlined that Muslim women face various forms of discrimination when they apply for jobs because of the way they dress. (To view the full report, please check: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmwomeq/89/89.pdf). (Al Diyar, August 12, 2016)