A new report entitled 'Religion At Work Report 2023' has found that religious discrimination is extensive within the workplace
New Religious Discrimination Report
The new report on religious discrimination, which was produced by Pearn Kandola and involved 6,315 respondents, found that:-
- Almost half (47%) were disinclined to discuss religious festivals they personally observe
- Approximately one-third (32%) of those who had had shared their religious beliefs in the workplace had experienced an adverse backlash. This ranged from being mocked and excluded, to being stereotyped and discriminated against.
- 64% of those who wear religious attire / symbols admitted to feeling uneasy about doing so at work
- 19% confirmed that they had had holiday requests relating to religious events turned down
- 19% had witnessed a colleague having suffered religious discrimination, with the discriminatory conduct ranging from so called "jokes" (32%), to barring the wearing of religious attire (22%) and symbols (19%), rejecting holiday request relating to religious events (22%), being subjected to ridicule regarding diet (20%), and being excluded from work events and subjected to other forms of isolation (23%).
- 38% were of the view that employers could do more as regards inclusivity in relation to the issue
- Whilst 2% of Christians reported that a request for annual leave in connection with a religious event had been rejected without good cause, this increased to 31% for Muslims, 25% for Sikhs, 23% for Hindus, 20% for Jews, and 14% for Buddhists
Comment
Commenting upon the findings of the survey on religious discrimination in the workplace, Professor Binna Kandola, the author of the report, stated: "It’s extremely disappointing to find that people of all faiths are likely to experience discrimination or have a negative experience at work. While organisations realise the benefits of developing diversity and inclusion strategies, many seem to be falling short when it comes to creating an open and inclusive environment for people of faith."
Findings A Wake-Up Call
Professor Kandola added: "Businesses are not getting the best from their employees when they feel the need to conceal important parts of their life, such as religious beliefs...We hope the findings of this major report will be a wake-up call and prove a catalyst for organisations to take steps to improve the experience of people of faith."
Findings Reinforce Other Research
The findings of the new report upon religious discrimination in the workplace reinforces the findings of other research on the issue, which includes the following:-
- Research conducted by Savanta ComRes, commissioned by Hyphen, found that 69% of Muslims had experienced religious discrimination / Islamophobia at work. The report also found that: "most instances of Islamophobia occurred when engaging with customers, clients or external people (44%), at work social events (42%) and when seeking promotion (40%)."
- According to the 2017 TUC Racism Ruins Lives survey, Jewish employees faced pervasive incidents of antisemitism in their professional environments and frequently encountered barriers when seeking support, making it difficult for them to address the issue effectively.
- Evidence produced by the Catholic Union, based upon a survey of 222 respondents, found that: "Almost a third of responders (31 per cent) said they had felt disadvantaged at work because of their faith. The vast majority of these instances (73 per cent) occurred in the public sector, with specific problems highlighted in NHS hospitals, universities and the police."
- A 2017 survey conducted by the ComRes Faith Research Centre found that 3% of the workforce, which equates to around a million workers, had suffered some form of religious discrimation, whilst 4% had observed colleagues having been subjected to it.
- In research conducted by researchers from Bristol University in 2014, it was found according to the Independent that: "Muslim men were up to 76 per cent less likely to have a job of any kind compared to white, male British Christians of the same age and with the same qualifications. And Muslim women were up to 65 per cent less likely to be employed than white Christian counterparts. Muslims were the most disadvantaged in terms of employment prospects out of 14 ethno-religious groupings in the UK."
