The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Christina Safiya Tobias-Nahi

Harvard Graduate School of Education
The New Post 9/11 Reality: Isolation Versus Insulation

Research Report - Isolation versus Insulation

My area of interest is Western women specifically that have converted to Islam, i.e. American of any descent. As children following the feminist movement many of us have been encouraged to pursue academics and careers. I want to see though how becoming Muslim might create a new glass ceiling in hiring or promotion for both those women that cover or not. I have designed a survey that has been distributed through multiple chanels to explore these issues. I am looking at race, age, SES, education, and professional experience also as other issues factoring in to discrimination or lack thereof. Finally, I hope to see if this is pushing these women into more Islamic work environments (Islamic-owned businesses or schools for example) or if that is a conscious choice, thus the title Isolation or Insulation. I plan to conduct 5-10 more in-depth interviews of some of the respondents and collect their workplace stories. Many of the respondents have also volunteered their conversion experiences as well.