Workplace Discrimination through an Intersectional Lens: A Comprehensive Review of Individual and Social Factors

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19468055

Anjana and Annalakshmi N. (Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

Women constitute more than half of the world’s population, and gender is a socially constructed concept rather than a biologically determined basis for discrimination. Workplace discrimination against women in India is a long-standing problem that has the potential to affect women’s overall well-being. This review paper critically examines studies conducted on women, with particular attention to employed Muslim women. It discusses various forms of workplace discrimination, including the gender pay gap, occupational segregation, limited career opportunities, and biases in hiring and promotion. Articles were collected from several electronic databases, including PubMed, APA-PsycArticles, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and JSTOR. A combination of keywords related to workplace discrimination was used to find relevant articles, including “Muslim women” OR “employed Muslim women” OR “women at intersections” OR “minority women” AND “workplace discrimination” OR “gender discrimination” OR “religious discrimination” AND “identity” OR “religious identity” OR “feminist identity” AND “coping self-efficacy” OR “social support” OR “resilience” OR “courage to challenge” AND “job commitment” OR “life satisfaction” OR “psychological well-being.” The study only considered English language publications and all accessible publications were reviewed using institutional subscription. Both national and international studies were carefully reviewed and combined. The review highlights the necessity of exploring the experiences of employed Muslim women, particularly in contexts marked by pronounced structural inequalities like in India, in order to inform broader efforts aimed at enhancing the ability of minority women to succeed within diverse and complex work-life settings.