Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T11:08:40.022Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Global Business Norms and Islamic Views of Women’s Employment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Jawad Syed  and
Harry J. Van Buren III
Jawad Syed
Affiliation:
University of Huddersfield
Harry J. Van Buren III
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This article examines the issue of gender equality within Islam in order to develop an ethical framework for businesses operating in Muslim majority countries. We pay attention to the role of women and seemingly inconsistent expectations of Islamic and Western societies with regard to appropriate gender roles. In particular, we contrast a mainstream Western liberal individualist view of freedom and equality—the capability approach, used here as an illustration of mainstream Western liberalism—with an egalitarian Islamic view on gender equality. While the article identifies an opportunity for this particular approach to reform patriarchal interpretations and practices of Islam toward gender egalitarian interpretations and practices, it also contests the notions of adaptation and well-being inherent within the capability approach. We suggest that a dialectical approach to understanding the relationships among religion, culture, and business provides a better guide to responsible business action in Muslim Majority countries than does the capability approach.

Keywords

adaptationcapability approachgender equalityIslamMuslim womenwell-being
Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 251 - 276
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2014

References

REFERENCES

Abu-Shuqqah, A. 1990. Tahrir Al-Mar’ah Al-Muslimah Fi ‘Asr Al-Risalah. (in Arabic, vols. 1-6). Kuwait: Dar Al-Qalam.Google Scholar
Ahmed, L. 1992. Women and gender in Islam: Historical roots of a modern debate. (in Arabic, vols. 1-6). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Al-Hibri, A. 1982. A study of Islamic herstory: Or, how did we ever get into this mess? Women’s Studies International Forum, 5 (2): 207–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0277-5395(82)90028-0 Google Scholar
Ali, F. 2013. A multi-level perspective on equal employment opportunity for women in Pakistan. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 32 (3): 289–309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EDI-12-2012-0110 Google Scholar
Ali, S. 2000. Gender and human rights in Islam and international law: Equal before Allah, unequal before men? The Hague: Kluwer Law International.Google Scholar
Alkire, S. 2002. Dimensions of human development. World Development, 30 (2): 181–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00109-7 Google Scholar
Anderson, J. 2004. Does God matter, and if so whose God? Religion and democratization. Democratization, 11 (4): 192–217. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/135103404000236817 Google Scholar
Armstrong, K. 1992. Muhammad: A biography of the Prophet. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Barlas, A. 2001. Muslim women and sexual oppression: Reading liberation from the Quran Macalester International, 10 (1): 117–46.Google Scholar
Barlas, A. 2002. “Believing women” in Islam: Unreadingpatriarchal interpretations of the Quran. Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Barlas, A. 2006. Does the Quran support gender equality? Or, do I have the autonomy to answer this question? Keynote address at the Workshop on Islam and Autonomy. University of Groningen, November 24. Available online at http://asmabarlas.com /PAPERS/Groningen_Keynote.pdf, accessed 26 March 2012.Google Scholar
Bayes, J.H. &Tohidi, N. (Eds.). 2001. Globalization, gender, and religion: The politics of women’s rights in Catholic and Muslim contexts Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Beeku, R. &Badawi, J. 2005. Balancing ethical responsibility among multiple organizational stakeholders: The Islamic perspective Journal of Business Ethics, 60 (2): 131–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-004-8204-5 Google Scholar
Benson, J.K. 1977. Organizations: A dialectical view. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22 (1): 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2391741 Google Scholar
Bracey, C. 2006. Getting back to basics: Some thoughts on dignity, materialism and a culture of racial equality. Chicano-Latino Law Review, 26 1–40.Google Scholar
Bruckner, D. 2009. In defense of adaptive preferences Philosophical Studies, 142 (3): 307–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11098-007-9188-7 Google Scholar
Bukhari, S. 1959. Translation of the Sahih Al-Bukhari (trans. Muhamamd Muhsin Khan). Cairo: Mustafa Al-Babi Al-Halabi Press.Google Scholar
Conte, R. &Castelfranchi, C. 1995. Cognitive and social action London: UCL Press.Google Scholar
Crescentlife. n.d. Working women: Early Muslim women who would work. Available online at http://www.crescentlife.com/thisthat/feminist%20muslims/working_women _during_early_islam.htm accessed 17 June 2012.Google Scholar
DeSilver, D. 2013. World’s Muslim population more widespread than you might think. Pew Research Centre. Available online at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/ 2013/06/07/worlds-muslim-population-more-widespread-than-you-might-think, accessed 17 January 2014.Google Scholar
Easterlin, R.A. 2003. Do aspirations adjust to the level of achievement? A look at the financial and family domains. European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop on Income, Interactions and Subjective Well-Being, Paris.Google Scholar
Esposito, J. 2002. What everyone needs to know about Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Eyerman, R. 1992. Modernity and social movements. In Haferkamp, H. and Smelser, N.J. (Eds.), Social change and modernity: 37–54. Berkley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Gagnon, S., &Cornelius, C. 2000. Re-examining workplace equality: The capabilities approach. Human Resource Management Journal, 10 68–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2000.tb00007.x Google Scholar
Gallagher, S., &Smith, C. 1999. Symbolic traditionalism and pragmatic egalitarianism: Contemporary evangelicals, families, and gender. Gender and Society, 13 (2): 211–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/089124399013002004 Google Scholar
Ghorbani, M., &Tung, R. 2007. Behind the veil: An exploratory study of the myths and realities of women in the Iranian workforce. Human Resource Management Journal, 17: 376–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2007.00051.x Google Scholar
Giddens, A. 1990. Consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Giddens, A. 1991. Modernity and self-identity. Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Hakim, C. 1998. Developing a sociology for the twenty-first century: Preference theory. British Journal of Sociology, 49: 137–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/591267 Google Scholar
Hakim, C. 1999. Models of the family, women’s role and social policy: A new perspective from preference theory. European Societies, 1 1: 33–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616696.1999.10749924 Google Scholar
Hakim, C. 2003. Models of the family in modern societies: Ideals and realities. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Hassan, R. 1994. Women’s interpretation of Islam. In Thijssen, H. (Ed.), Women and Islam in Muslim societies. The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Poverty and Development Program.Google Scholar
Hassan, R. 1999. An Islamic perspective. In Lebacqz, K. (Ed.), Sexuality: A reader. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press.Google Scholar
Hekman, R. 1999. An Islamic perspective. In Lebacqz, K. (Ed.), Sexuality: A reader. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press.Google Scholar
Hua, D. 2008. Speech by Hua Du, Country Director, Asian Development Bank, Bangladesh Resident Mission. Second National Women SME Entrepreneur Conference. Dhaka, February 13.Google Scholar
Hussain, A. 1987. Status of women in Islam. Lahore: Law Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Hyder, K. 2008. The support for women in Iran is tremendous. Daily Dawn(Karachi), 8 July.Google Scholar
Majah., Ibn 1952. Sunan Ibn Majah. Cairo: Dar Ihya’ al Kutub al Arabiyah.Google Scholar
Majah., Ibn 1952. Sunan Ibn Majah. Cairo: Dar Ihya’ al Kutub al Arabiyah.Google Scholar
Janin, H. &Kahlmeyer., A. 2007. Islamic law: The sharia from Muhammad’s time to the present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co..Google Scholar
Karam, C. &Jamali, D. 2013. Gendering CSR in the Arab middle east: An institutional perspective. Business Ethics Quarterly, 23 1: 31–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/beq20132312 Google Scholar
Keddie, N. (Ed.). 1996. Debating gender, debating sexuality. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Kelan, E.K. 2008. Emotions in a rational profession: The gendering of skills in ICT work. Gender, Work and Organization, 15 1: 49–71.Google Scholar
Lewis, B. 1995. The middle east. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.Google Scholar
Lukes, S. 1985. Emile Durkheim: His life and work, a historical and critical study. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Marlow, L. 1997. Hierarchy and egalitarianism in Islamic thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mayer, D. &Cava, A. 1993. Ethics and the gender equality dilemma for U.S. multinationals. Journal of Business Ethics, 12 9: 701–08. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00881384 Google Scholar
Menon, N. 2002. Universalism without foundations?. Economy and Society, 31 1: 152–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03085140120109295 Google Scholar
Mernissi, F. 1987. Beyond the veil: Male-female dynamics in modern Muslim society. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Mernissi, F. 1991. Women and Islam: An historical and theological enquiry. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Mernissi, F. 1996. Women’s rebellion and Islamic memory. London: Zed Publishers.Google Scholar
Metcalfe, B.D., and Rees, C.J. 2010. Gender, globalization and organization: Exploring power, relations and intersections: Guest editorial. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 29 1: 5–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02610151011019183 Google Scholar
Miles, A. 1996. Integrative feminisms: Building global visions, 1960s-1990s. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Minai, N. 1981. Women in Islam: Tradition and transition in the middle east. London: John Murray.Google Scholar
Moghadam, V. 2009. Where are Iran's working women?. Payvand’s Iran News 10 February. Available online at http://www.payvand.com/news/09/feb/1110.html, accessed 2 March 2013.Google Scholar
Moore, H.M. 2007. Visible through the veil: The regulation of Islam in American law. Sociology of Religion, 68 237–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/socrel/683.237 Google Scholar
Nussbaum, M. 1999. Sex and social justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nussbaum, M. 2000. Woman and human development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511841286 Google Scholar
Nussbaum, M. 2001. Capabilities as fundamental entitlements: Sen and social justice. Paper presented at Conference on Sen's Work Germany. University of Bielefeld,Google Scholar
Nussbaum, M. 2012. The new religious intolerance: Overcoming the politics of fear in an anxious age. Boston: Belknap Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674065918 Google Scholar
Özbilgin, M.F., Syed, J., Ali, F., &Torunoglu, D. 2012. International transfer of policies and practices of gender equality in employment to and among Muslim majority countries. Gender, Work and Organization, 19 4: 345–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2010.00515.x Google Scholar
Powell, G.N., &Butterfield, D.A. 1994. Investigating the “glass ceiling” phenomenon: An empirical study of actual promotions to top management. Academy of Management Journal, 37 1: 68–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256770 Google Scholar
Prophet's Last Sermon, The. n.d IslamWorld. Available online athttp://islamworld.net/ docs/sermon.htmlaccessed 20 December 2013.Google Scholar
Qizilbash, M. 2006. Capability, happiness and adaptation in Sen, and Mill, J.S. Utilitas, 18 1: 20–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0953820805001809 Google Scholar
Qur'an. n.d. English translation of the meaning. Revised version of translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Riyadh: The Presidency of Islamic Researches, King Fahd Holy Qur'an Printing Complex.Google Scholar
Robeyns, I. 2002. Gender inequality: A capability perspective. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Cambridge University.Google Scholar
Scherer, A., &Palazzo, G. 2007. Towards a political conception of corporate responsibility: Business and society seen from a Habermasian perspective. Academy of Management Review, 32 4: 1096–1120.Google Scholar
Sen, A. 1992. Inequality re-examined. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Sen, A. 1993. Capability and well-being. In Nussbaum, M. &Sen, A. (Eds.), The quality of life: 30–54 Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Sen, A. 1995. Gender inequality and theories of justice. In Nussbaum, M. &Glover, J. (Eds.), Women, culture and development: A study of human capabilities: 259–73. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sen, A. 1999. Development as freedom. Oxford. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Seo, M., &Creed, W.E. 2002. Institutional contradictions, praxis, and institutional change: A dialectical perspective. Academy of Management Review, 27 2: 222–47.Google Scholar
Sidani, Y., &Thornberry, J. 2013. Nepotism in the Arab world: An institutional theory perspective. Business Ethics Quarterly, 23 1: 69–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/beq20132313 Google Scholar
Spivak, G.C. 1998. Can the subaltern speak? In Nelson, C. &Grossberg, L. (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture: 271–313. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Suchman, M.C. 1995. Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20 3: 571–611.Google Scholar
Sugden, R. 2006. What we desire, what we have reason to desire, whatever we might desire: Mill and Sen on the value of opportunity. Utilitas, 18 1: 33–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0953820805001810 Google Scholar
Syed, J. 2008. A context specific perspective of equal employment opportunity in Islamic societies. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 25 1: 135–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10490-007-9051-6 Google Scholar
Syed, J. &Ali, F. 2005. A historical perspective of Islamic modesty and its implications for Pakistani women at work Paper presented at Women’s History Conference, IFRWH, UNSW, Sydney.Google Scholar
Syed, J. 2011. The white woman’s burden: From colonial civilisation to third world development. Third World Quarterly, 32 2: 349–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2011.560473 Google Scholar
Syed, J., Ali, F., &Winstanley, D. 2005. In pursuit of modesty: Contextual emotional labour and the dilemma for working women in Islamic societies. International Journal of Work, Organisation and Emotion, 1 2: 150–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJWOE.2005.008819 Google Scholar
Syed, J., &Murray, P. 2008. A cultural feminist approach towards managing diversity in top management teams. Equal Opportunities International, 27 5: 413–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02610150810882288 Google Scholar
Syed, J., &Pio, E. 2010. Veiled diversity: Workplace experiences of Muslim women in Australia. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 27 1: 115–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10490-009-9168-x Google Scholar
Tatli, A., Vassilopoulou, J., &Özbilgin, M. 2013. An unrequited affinity between talent shortages and untapped female potential: The relevance of gender quotas for talent management in high growth potential economies of the Asia Pacific region. International Business Review, 22 3: 539–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2012.07.005 Google Scholar
Tönnies, F. 1971. On sociology: Pure, applied and empirical (Cahnman, W.J. and Heberle, R.Eds.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press Google Scholar
UNDP (United Nations Development Program). 2002. Arab human development report New York: United Nations Publications.Google Scholar
Veenhoven, R. 2000. The four qualities of life: Ordering concepts and measures of the good life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1 1: 1–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1010072010360 Google Scholar
Veenhoven, R. 2002. Why social policy needs subjective indicators. Social Indicators Research, 58 (1-3): 33–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1015723614574 Google Scholar
Weber, M. 1958. The protestant ethnic and the spirit of capitalism. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.Google Scholar
Wills, G. 2006. What Jesus meant. New York: Viking.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2008. Whispers to voices: Gender and social transformation in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Development Series Paper No. 22. Available online athttp://www.worldbank .org.bd/bdsaccessed 20 March 2013.Google Scholar
Young, I.M. 1990. Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Zind, S. 2009. Iran 2009: Iranian women make gains, but barriers remain. VPR News, 5 February. Available online at http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/83908/, accessed 2 March 2013.Google Scholar