Journal of Management & Organization, page 1 of 19 © 2018 Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management doi:10.1017/jmo.2018.22 ‘Good Muslim women’ at work: An Islamic and postcolonial perspective on ethnic privilege FAIZA ALI* AND JAWAD SYED** Abstract Within sparse studies available on ethnic privilege at work, the emphasis is dominantly on ethnic privileges available to white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, heterosexual men and to a lesser extent white women. This paper presents and develops an Islamic and postcolonial perspective on ethnic privilege, which is unique not only due to contextual and cultural differences but also due to its postcolonial nature and composition. By postcolonial, the paper refers to cultural legacies of Arab colonialism and ideology in South Asia and elsewhere. Drawing on a qualitative study of Muslim female employees in Pakistan, the paper shows that religio-ethnic privilege represents postcolonial influences of a foreign (Arab-Salafi, ultra-orthodox Islamist) culture on a (non-Arab Muslim) society, and as such does not represent ethnic norms of a local mainstream society. The paper investigates the case of religio-ethnic privilege and female employment in Pakistan and examines how a foreign-influenced stereotype of female modesty is used to benchmark and preferentially treat ‘good Muslim women.’ The analysis shows that an Islamic and postcolonial lens may be needed to understand the nature and implications of religio-ethnic privilege at work in Muslim majority countries and societies. Keywords: female employment, gender, modesty, religio-ethnic privilege, Muslim women Received 15 March 2017. Accepted 13 March 2018 INTRODUCTION I … demand the formation of a consolidated Muslim State in the best interests of India and Islam. For India, it means security and peace resulting from an internal balance of power; for Islam, an opportunity to rid itself of the stamp that Arabian Imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilize its law, its education, its culture, and to bring them into closer contact with its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times (Iqbal, 1930: para. 13d). Although ethnic privileges remain often unquestioned in the context of work, their understanding contributes to deconstructing many of the oppressions and inequalities in organizations (Nkomo, 1992; Hunter, Grimes, & Swan, 2009; Sang, Al-Dajani, & Özbilgin, 2013; Torino, 2015). Privilege can be defined as an advantage, right or immunity granted or available to a specific person or group of people. The concept of ethnic privilege is mainly researched in Western contexts with a particular focus on whiteness in societies and organizations (e.g., Lund & Carr, 2010; Sang, Al-Dajani, & * Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan ** Organisational Behaviour, Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan Corresponding author: Faiza.Ali@lums.edu.pk JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATION 1