Low rates of workforce participation among Australian Muslim women could be linked to concerns about childcare, according to findings from a research project at UTS.
The work, led by Dr Elif Incekara-Hafalir and funded by a UTS Social Impact Grant and the UTS Business School, looked at how misperceptions of social norms might undermine the workforce engagement of these women.
'When you look at the education levels of Muslim women in Australia, they are highly educated, but when we look at the employment outcomes, we see that there’s a lot of unemployment and underemployment for this group,’ says Dr Incekara Hafalir, a behavioural economist and researcher.
This is a problem because there is human capital accumulation that is not being translated into workforce participation. It’s a problem for these individuals, and it’s also a problem for broader workforce diversity because we’re not seeing this minority group in the workforce in representative numbers.
How caring responsibilities impact plans to work
The researchers asked three groups – Australian Muslim university students, general Australian university students and people from the general Australian working population (professionals) – to respond to two key statements, taken from well-known surveys, about women’s work and childcare:
- Statement 1: A preschool child is likely to suffer if his or her mother works.
- Statement 2: Women should have the freedom to work outside of the home.
All research participants were then asked to predict what share of male and female Muslim students would agree with these statements. The Muslim university students were also asked to guess how the professionals would expect Muslim students to answer this question.
A significant share of each group believed that children would suffer if the mother works, with Muslim Australian students more likely to agree with Statement 1 than participants in the other two groups (62% compared to 38% of professionals and 43% of general Australian university students).
By contrast, Muslim women who disagreed with this view reported a higher likelihood to plan on working when they had young children, as did Muslim women who estimated that a high share of other Muslim women did not believe that working was detrimental to children’s wellbeing.
These preliminary results show that perceptions of, and willingness to adhere to, social norms may influence women’s decision to pursue employment during their children’s early developmental years.
The key takeaway from this study is the consideration of children’s upbringing, the modelling of family dynamic and strong gender roles. These gender roles exist in almost every community — the women provide childcare and men are breadwinners, but in some Muslim communities, these roles may be more strongly emphasised. – Dr Incekara-Hafalir.
If that’s the case, we need to focus on creating family-friendly working environments that remove these barriers to participation.
Individual vs community perception
Other findings from the study showed that perceptions of the Muslim community’s views also played a part in shaping Muslim women’s plans to work. While most research respondents supported women’s right to work, all the participant groups underestimated how many Muslims, particularly Muslim men, support this right: professionals guessed this share to be only 54%, Muslim male students guessed 74%, and Muslim female students guessed 63%. The true number was 93%.
Muslim women’s expectations of how the Australian professionals would answer this question directly impacted their likelihood of working: women who thought the Australian professionals believed that Muslim men supported women working were more likely to have plans to work when they had young children. Conversely, those who believed the general Australian respondents would misperceive Muslim men’s views were less likely to work.
‘There are misperceptions of every minority group, and these minority groups generally know what these misperceptions are. They anticipate them, and anticipation of these misperceptions may affect their behaviour,’ Dr Elif Incekara-Hafalir says.
‘If there’s a general belief in the work environment that Muslim communities don’t think women should work outside of the home, it could lead Muslim women to think they will be seen as an outsider in the workplace.’
The research could help shape organisational and policy responses that create more supportive workplaces for Muslim women. It will also support the work of organisations like the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights (AMWCHR), whose team supported the project by sharing insights into Muslim women's workforce participation challenges.
‘At AMWCHR, we witness the distinct challenges that Muslim women encounter to enter or remain in the workforce. This research highlights the significant role of social norms and misperceptions in shaping their career decisions,’ says Chief Executive Officer Nesreen Bottriell.
Tackling these issues is essential for creating inclusive and safe workplaces that genuinely support Muslim women to pursue their professional goals.
Project team
Dr Elif Incekara-Hafalir, Dr Rayan Merkbawi (UTS Business School), Dr Ali Vergili (Macquarie University), Dr Anisa Buckley (Amanah Islamic Finance).
Project partners
Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights.
The problem
Despite high levels of education, Australian Muslim women face significant unemployment and underemployment. This disconnect between education and workforce participation is exacerbated by social norms around childcare and gender roles, which influence their career decisions and reinforce misperceptions about community views on women working.
The response
Dr. Elif Incekara-Hafalir and her team at UTS investigated how social norms and misperceptions affect workforce participation among Muslim women. Their research explored perceptions of gender roles and childcare through surveys of Muslim students, general students, and professionals, revealing critical gaps in understanding societal attitudes.
What helped accomplish this?
The research was funded by a UTS Social Impact Grant and the UTS Business School, with contributions from the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights (AMWCHR). Insights from Muslim women’s experiences and the broader community’s perspectives informed the study, creating a robust foundation for actionable findings.
What has changed as a result?
The findings highlight the need for inclusive, family-friendly workplace policies to reduce barriers for Muslim women. They also reveal opportunities to challenge misperceptions about social norms, guiding organisations like AMWCHR in fostering supportive environments for Muslim women to achieve their professional aspirations.
