Women, labour market outcomes and religion: evidence from the British labour market

Abstract

Weanalyse a large-scale UK quarterly Labour Force Survey data covering a period of 16 years (2002–2017) to compare labour market outcomes for women of different religious and ethnic denominations. The paper contributes to the existing literature in analysing three labour outcomes: economic activity (participation), unemployment and occupational choice. While the religious penalties facing Muslim women in unemployment were notoriously high and persistent, the results suggest that their participation is significantly lower. Finally, the occupational distribution of Muslim women shows they are similar to white Christian women in higher occupations but have a much higher probability of belonging to lower occupations.