The head of the Muslim Council of Britain has said he is unsurprised by a report showing high levels of discrimination against Muslim people in the workplace.
A report by the Women and Equalities Committee has found that Muslim women are three times more likely to be unemployed jobseekers than women generally.
Harun Khan, secretary general of the council and Redbridge Islamic Centre trustee, said this report will help push this issue up the political agenda.
He said: “It is not surprising that discrimination is felt across the board and that Muslim women in particular, are suffering.
“Effective policies to ease the passage of Muslims into the labour market will help tackle poverty and counter the unconscious and conscious bias faced by Muslims.
Committee chair, Maria Miller, found that “the evidence showed that it was seen as acceptable to discriminate against Muslim women and that [people] almost didn’t see it as discrimination.”
The report has called for a “role model” programme for Muslim women, which Abida Iqbal MBE, chair of Redbridge Disabled Women’s Welfare Association, said she wouldn’t support.
She said: “I don’t think a programme would be necessary for Muslim women to realise their full potential.
“Any problem Muslim women face at work or anywhere else is because of the way we’ve been portrayed in the media, for example, being submissive.
“The real issue to be addressed and tackled is discrimination for this group of women and that could be helped by sending employers on a seminar to help them not to label people, and in particular Muslim women.”
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