Muslim Employees Are Welcome In US Companies

Employers taking steps to attract and retain diverse, talented work force

Muslim Employees Find "Welcome" Sign in U.S. Companies

Many U.S. companies are trying to accommodate the religious beliefs of Muslim employees by setting aside rooms for prayer and meditation, supporting the wearing of traditional head coverings, adjusting work hours and honoring leave requests for major Islamic holidays.

These companies see a link between a culture of inclusion and business success, say diversity experts. Respecting religious differences is one way to attract and retain talented employees and appeal to a larger customer base.

"You see more and more Muslims entering the work force, bringing valuable skills and talents," says diversity consultant Myrna Marofsky, "and those employees want to bring their entire self to the workplace. Part of that is their religion, traditions and beliefs."

Marofsky, a former co-owner and president of ProGroup, a Minneapolis-based diversity training and consulting firm, said that "as companies move to be more global and more multicultural -- because they see that as a business advantage -- they are going to have a diverse work force."

DiversityInc, a monthly business magazine, says that among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity -- a list it issues annually -- 70 percent allow employees to take holiday leave in accordance with their religious beliefs "and 16 percent make special religious accommodations, such as prayer rooms." The Top 50 "set the trends as national diversity leaders," according a DiversityInc article.

In a separate article, DiversityInc said that Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that ended in 2007 on October 13, "used to pass unacknowledged by most U.S. employers. But the $580 million Muslim market and increasing religious diversity in the workplace have convinced progressive companies to pay attention."

Some managers refrain from scheduling "working lunches" that would interfere with the Ramadan fast, and it is becoming more common for businesses to host iftar dinners to celebrate the breaking of the fast. Ford Motor Company, for instance, has hosted iftars for the past seven years.

In a 2006 article titled "Honoring Your Muslim Colleagues," Marofsky gave advice to clients "asking if they should do something special for Ramadan." She said it was "the first year in 20 years of diversity consulting that I have seen this level of interest."

Although U.S. law requires employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for their "employees' sincerely held religious practices," Marofsky said she believes the legal requirement is not the main motivation for many companies' religious diversity policies.

"The first thing that is driving it is the fact that the workplace has changed, the demographics of the workplace have changed, and they need employees for the skills and talents that they bring," she said in an interview. "It's all about retaining talent."

Terry Howard, director of diversity and inclusion at Texas Instruments (TI), the high-tech giant based in Dallas, agrees.

"For TI, it's in our best interest for people to feel comfortable to come here to help us be successful," he told USINFO.

The company has established "serenity rooms" that can be used for daily prayers. For about six years, Muslim employees have maintained a networking group -- one of 17 such "affinity" groups at the company -- called the Muslim Employees Initiative.

Howard recalled a young Muslim engineer whom TI had worked hard to recruit. "He made a decision, for whatever reason, to leave and join a competitor. But, ultimately, he didn't think the competitor was as welcoming to him and his faith -- they didn't have an affinity group, they didn't have serenity rooms -- so he came back to TI. We welcomed him back."

The Muslim Employees Initiative was a result of TI's culture of inclusion, Howard told USINFO. "After [the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001] we wanted to make really sure there were no barriers in the workplace for Middle Eastern or Muslim employees," he said. "We started to engage them in dialogue. We asked them how the environment was for them."

Siraj Akhtar, a TI senior design engineer and leader of the Muslim Employees Initiative, says in an article recently published by DiversityWealth that having a Muslim affinity group "was a necessity" after the 2001 terrorist attacks. "Muslim Employees had to explain what Islam really is and what we stand for. We needed to make our co-workers aware of our faith and our practices and remove the prevalent stereotypes," he says.

Akhtar stresses that Muslim employees share with other affinity groups "the common mission of full engagement" in working for Texas Instruments. His group and the Christian Values Initiative, another affinity group, have held several joint events. "We clearly recognize our differences, no one will compromise his or her faith; at the same time, we have furthered the respect of each other," he says.

Tasnim Benhalim, founder of DiversityWealth, a Dallas-based consulting firm that has worked frequently with Texas Instruments, recalled that "right after [September 11, 2001] one TI employee, a Muslim, said 'when I drive to work I feel very concerned, but once I'm inside TI, I feel very safe.' That's really the kind of atmosphere they have built."

Benhalim, a sixth-generation Texan who converted to Islam about 30 years ago and is married to a Libyan, said her own experience as a Muslim "has been very, very positive."

When asked about the increase in complaints about religious discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since the September 11, 2001, attacks, Benhalim responded, "I think that part of that is because people are recognizing that they have the right to express their religious beliefs and they have the right to complain if they're not allowed to."

ENDS

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