Wearing religious symbols on the workplace

How to manage if you need to recruit someone wearing a headscarf?

The globalisation of the economy is increasing the mix of origins within the workforce and among close and distant working partners.

Cultural diversity is an imperative for businesses: it can be found at every level - management, employees, partners, suppliers and customers.

Properly managed, diversity management can contribute to the long-term development of human resources and well-being in the workplace. This, in turn, will lead to greater employee support for the company's culture and ambitions.

This increased diversity will enable the company to capitalise on its knowledge and experience, which should give it greater creativity, flexibility, adaptability and resilience in the marketplace.

This self-training course is designed to raise your awareness, equip you and help you with this task, according to your needs and at your own pace.

How can I learn more ?

WOULD YOU RECRUIT A PERSON WEARING A HEADSCARF?

A call centre is recruiting. The selection consists of a written part and an interview with the head of human resources. Leila was invited by a friend. She passed the first selection stage. During the interview, she wore a hijab that covered her hair and neck. Her experience was much appreciated, and she spoke fluent English and Arabic. However, the manager deplores the headscarf: "It's retrograde and against gender equality", she says. The organisation's rules stipulate that the wearing of any distinctive religious symbol is forbidden. Leila's skills and motivation to join the team were in no doubt, and she was called for a second interview: she was asked to give up her headscarf in favour of a bandana. Leila refused. Her application is rejected.

Examine Leila's motivations and those of the recruitment manager.
List the possible difficulties that could be caused by a person wearing a headscarf joining the team.
Determine how the neutrality of the call centre is compromised by the presence of an employee wearing a headscarf.
Given the absence of eye contact with customers, consider how customers will be disturbed by a headscarf-wearing employee.
Doesn't Leila's exclusion reinforce the rejection of applications from women, as opposed to Muslim men who don't wear outward signs of religion?
If you hire Leila, explain how you will manage her integration into the team.
Evaluate the proposal to replace the headscarf with a bandana.

Advise Leila on how to find a job that matches her skills.

Test yourself

What have you learnt?

Awareness of a cross-exclusion problem (X woman Muslim).
Attempt at individual management.
Confrontation of reactions within the training group.
Attempt at collective resolution.
The place of religious injunctions in the lives of people of faith.
The place of institutional injunctions in professional life, even though they have no connection with the activity concerned.
The reinforcement of exclusions and the mechanisms of intersectionality.
Analysis for and against an issue that involves many subjective considerations.
Confrontation of points of view which may be opposed to each other.
Attempt at synthesis based on objective facts.…
Examination of conscience between the objectivity required to exercise the profession of recruiter while respecting the factual needs of the company and philosophical positions that are inevitably subjective.
Respecting and listening to the points of view of all parties.
Empathy with people whose philosophy we do not share, but with whom we have points in common.