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Workplace Experiences of Muslim Women in STEM in Canada: An Intersectional Qualitative Analysis

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Sex Roles
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Sareh Nazari
Sareh Nazari
Sareh Nazari
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Abstract and Figures

This study explores the workplace experiences of Muslim women in two STEM sectors in Canada: computer sciences and engineering sciences. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 17 Muslim women and drawing on theories of inequality regimes and intersectionality, this paper investigates the barriers that Muslim women face to fit into the organizational cultures within the computer and engineering fields due to their intersectional identities and how they respond to perceived barriers. Results revealed that most participants felt excluded from both formal and informal interactions. Their technical abilities were often questioned by non-Muslim, white male colleagues, leading to feelings of alienation and difficulty establishing trust and deeper connections. The visibility of their religious identity, particularly through the wearing of headscarves, intensified these challenges due to intersectional stereotypes. Additionally, balancing work and home responsibilities emerged as a significant barrier, as extended work hours and traditional religious gender roles, which prioritize childcare and household duties, hindered career progression. In response, participants employed strategies of confrontation and negotiation to navigate these workplace barriers. This research contributes to the gender and organizational literature by highlighting the specific challenges Muslim women face in STEM fields in Canada and underscores the need for inclusive policies that address these intersectional obstacles.
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Sex Roles (2025) 91:12
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-025-01563-9
and language skills (Khattab et al., 2020a, b) as contribut-
ing to these inequities. Other researchers point to structural
discrimination in the Western labour markets, especially
concerning race/ethnicity (Khattab & Hussein, 2018; Miaari
et al., 2019), arguing that labour market penalties are not
uniform across all Muslim women, but rather vary across
ethno-racial backgrounds.
Muslim women in the computer sciences and engi-
neering elds, in the case of the current research, belong
to multiple minority groups as professional women in
predominately male elds, as individuals who grew up in
dierent familial socio-economic classes, as Muslims in a
social context where Islam is considered negatively, and
as racialized immigrants in a white culture. Each of these
identities carries distinct social meanings and structures of
inequality; yet it is at the intersection of these identities that
the most profound challenges arise. Therefore, to fully grasp
their experiences, the current research examines how these
overlapping identities intersect and interact in shaping their
experiences of barriers and challenges within STEM elds.
With the rise of Islamophobia and concerns about Islamic
radicalism, Muslim women confront a myriad of labour
market challenges rooted in their intersectional identi-
ties (Daoud & Khattab, 2022; Dilmaghani & Dean, 2016).
Despite advances in employment equity, research indicates
that Muslim women experience lower labour force par-
ticipation rates, higher unemployment, and reduced work
hours and earnings compared to their non-Muslim counter-
parts (Abdelhadi, 2017; Khattab et al., 2019a, b, 2020a, b;
Khattab & Hussein, 2018; Naseem & Adnan, 2019; Nazari,
2022, 2024). Some scholars have highlighted the role of
human capital factors such as education (Abdelhadi & Eng-
land, 2019), duration of residency in the host country (Read
& Bartowski, 2000), job types (Khattab & Johnston, 2015),
Sareh Nazari
san130@usask.ca
1 Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan, 129-
72 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Abstract
This study explores the workplace experiences of Muslim women in two STEM sectors in Canada: computer sciences and
engineering sciences. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 17 Muslim women and drawing on theories of
inequality regimes and intersectionality, this paper investigates the barriers that Muslim women face to t into the orga-
nizational cultures within the computer and engineering elds due to their intersectional identities and how they respond
to perceived barriers. Results revealed that most participants felt excluded from both formal and informal interactions.
Their technical abilities were often questioned by non-Muslim, white male colleagues, leading to feelings of alienation
and diculty establishing trust and deeper connections. The visibility of their religious identity, particularly through the
wearing of headscarves, intensied these challenges due to intersectional stereotypes. Additionally, balancing work and
home responsibilities emerged as a signicant barrier, as extended work hours and traditional religious gender roles, which
prioritize childcare and household duties, hindered career progression. In response, participants employed strategies of
confrontation and negotiation to navigate these workplace barriers. This research contributes to the gender and organiza-
tional literature by highlighting the specic challenges Muslim women face in STEM elds in Canada and underscores
the need for inclusive policies that address these intersectional obstacles.
Keywords STEM · Computer sciences · Engineering sciences · Muslim women · Intersectionality · Canada ·
Qualitative · Inclusivity
Accepted: 27 January 2025 / Published online: 5 February 2025
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025
Workplace Experiences of Muslim Women in STEM in Canada: An
Intersectional Qualitative Analysis
SarehNazari1
1 3
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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