Human Capital and Labour Market Performance of Muslim Women in Australia

Abstract

This article examines the labour-market performance of Muslim women in Australia. It examines whether Muslim women face a penalty due to their religion. This study analyses data obtained from the 2011 Australian Census, and found that Muslim women were less likely to participate in the labour market and less likely to obtain managerial jobs. However, the results of this study show that Muslim women are as likely to be employed as are the majority group. Human capital factors explained the difference between the groups in the case of employment, thus refuting religious discrimination as an explanation for this difference. However, the study also suggests that the lack of differences in employment should be examined further as it might be masking other forms of disadvantages, e.g. overqualification. The results also show that qualifications have a positive impact on all labour market outcomes and by and large operate similarly among all groups.