The Women and Work All Party Parliamentary Group announced their 2018 theme of ‘How to Recruit Women for the 21st Century,’ and therefore consulted on how to improve women’s recruitment.  The deadline was 20th November 2018. MWNUK responded to this inquiry which can be downloaded here.  Some of our comments included:

Muslim / BAME women will face the same barriers as other women which need to be addressed such as the ‘motherhood penalty’ in workplaces, childcare costs and universal credits etc. However, additional barriers that are still not being addressed include the triple disadvantage due being a woman, but also a BAME woman and a Muslim woman.

Direct and indirect discrimination towards Muslim and BAME women continues to be under-reported and under-documented. Discriminatory practices can be disempowering and can have the effect of discouraging Muslim and BAME women from even applying, which is why it is vital to take concrete steps to address the barriers in place and empower women to exercise their rights.

We feel that as well as taking steps to change workplace cultures, we should also focus on role-modelling and capacity building initiatives as not only will these encourage Muslim and BAME women but will also challenge stereotypes.