A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplace

Orientation: More Muslim women are entering the labour market, and this requires an understanding of the cultural and social contexts as there may be challenges inhibiting their growth and advancement. Research purpose: The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to explore the perceptions of Mus...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nuraan Agherdien
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2025-01-01
Series:SA Journal of Human Resource Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/2817
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1823858232345493504
author Nuraan Agherdien
author_facet Nuraan Agherdien
author_sort Nuraan Agherdien
collection DOAJ
description Orientation: More Muslim women are entering the labour market, and this requires an understanding of the cultural and social contexts as there may be challenges inhibiting their growth and advancement. Research purpose: The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to explore the perceptions of Muslim women relating to career success; (2) to identify the challenges facing Muslim women and (3) to describe the organisational culture as experienced by Muslim women in the South African workplace. Motivation for the study: Literature often focusses on the challenges women face in general, yet little examines the challenges experienced by Muslim women in the work context. This article seeks to identify whether the challenges experienced are similar or whether specific interventions are required to ensure the career success of Muslim women. Research approach/design and method: A qualitative research design was employed using open-ended questions in an online survey as the data collection tool. Data were collected from 88 Muslim women across industries, professions and provinces within South Africa. Main findings: Experiences of success focus on happiness, contentment and growth, whereas perceptions of success in the organisation are objective and include promotion, financial gain and status. The key challenges can include a lack of resources and support; however, respondents reported mostly a positive organisational culture supporting career and personal aspirations. Practical/managerial implications: Enhancing cross-cultural awareness and understanding contributes to the experienced career success of Muslim women. Contribution/value-add: The findings propose interventions to advance the career, wellness and overall experiences of Muslim women.
format Article
id doaj-art-e9b80ab6cc324f81b4630e238ed1482e
institution Kabale University
issn 1683-7584
2071-078X
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher AOSIS
record_format Article
series SA Journal of Human Resource Management
spelling doaj-art-e9b80ab6cc324f81b4630e238ed1482e2025-02-11T13:29:09ZengAOSISSA Journal of Human Resource Management1683-75842071-078X2025-01-01230e1e910.4102/sajhrm.v23i0.2817847A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplaceNuraan Agherdien0Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, GqeberhaOrientation: More Muslim women are entering the labour market, and this requires an understanding of the cultural and social contexts as there may be challenges inhibiting their growth and advancement. Research purpose: The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to explore the perceptions of Muslim women relating to career success; (2) to identify the challenges facing Muslim women and (3) to describe the organisational culture as experienced by Muslim women in the South African workplace. Motivation for the study: Literature often focusses on the challenges women face in general, yet little examines the challenges experienced by Muslim women in the work context. This article seeks to identify whether the challenges experienced are similar or whether specific interventions are required to ensure the career success of Muslim women. Research approach/design and method: A qualitative research design was employed using open-ended questions in an online survey as the data collection tool. Data were collected from 88 Muslim women across industries, professions and provinces within South Africa. Main findings: Experiences of success focus on happiness, contentment and growth, whereas perceptions of success in the organisation are objective and include promotion, financial gain and status. The key challenges can include a lack of resources and support; however, respondents reported mostly a positive organisational culture supporting career and personal aspirations. Practical/managerial implications: Enhancing cross-cultural awareness and understanding contributes to the experienced career success of Muslim women. Contribution/value-add: The findings propose interventions to advance the career, wellness and overall experiences of Muslim women.https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/2817muslim womensouth africalived experienceschallengescross-cultural awareness
spellingShingle Nuraan Agherdien
A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplace
SA Journal of Human Resource Management
muslim women
south africa
lived experiences
challenges
cross-cultural awareness
title A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplace
title_full A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplace
title_fullStr A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplace
title_full_unstemmed A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplace
title_short A qualitative study exploring the experiences of Muslim women in the South African workplace
title_sort qualitative study exploring the experiences of muslim women in the south african workplace
topic muslim women
south africa
lived experiences
challenges
cross-cultural awareness
url https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/2817
work_keys_str_mv AT nuraanagherdien aqualitativestudyexploringtheexperiencesofmuslimwomeninthesouthafricanworkplace
AT nuraanagherdien qualitativestudyexploringtheexperiencesofmuslimwomeninthesouthafricanworkplace