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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that my company is racist?

36 replies

YukonGold · 07/08/2018 22:16

This is a really really difficult subject but when I was walking to our London office this week I walked passed a group of women all wearing the burka, what was of interest to me was that in my office I’ve never seen a woman wearing the burka.
Does this mean that my company is racist or that women that wear the burka would never want to work where I do?
Genuine question and I’m fine to be pulled up on this.

OP posts:
InspectorIkmen · 07/08/2018 22:20

Do what?

There are no burqa wearing women in your office so therefore your company is racist? Is that what you think?

Or maybe any Muslim women there have chosen not to wear the burqa. Or maybe no Muslim women have applied to work there?

Jeez. RIP Critical thinking.

SpiritedLondon · 07/08/2018 22:20

I don’t work anywhere where women wear a burka but I suspect that it may be more that the women in question are not expected / do not desire to work outside the home.

Merryoldgoat · 07/08/2018 22:21

What? What have I just read?!

Dottierichardson · 07/08/2018 22:22

Do you mean a burka or a niqab or a hijab?

Gottagetmoving · 07/08/2018 22:23

Are you being illustrious?
The ratio of women wearing burkas to those who don't is teeny...so it's unlikely your company would have a woman in a burka working for them.

Gottagetmoving · 07/08/2018 22:24

Serious.....not illustrious!!

MsOliphant · 07/08/2018 22:24

When I went to the Co-Op just now, I passed a group of women wearing niqab.

But when I went into the co-op, I saw no women working or shopping that were wearing niqab.

Is my Co-Op racist?Shock

Seriously OP. I'm sorry to ask but do you struggle with thinking logically in general?

Poodletip · 07/08/2018 22:24

What percentage of the working people in the country wear burkas? What percentage of the working people in the country work in your office?

I think you'd find the probability of somebody working in your office and wearing a burka is vanishingly small.

ElinorOliphantIsCompletelyFine · 07/08/2018 22:26

Is this a bad attempt at trolling or something lol

No one in my office where's one but we're a very diverse group of people.

It means nothing.

BigPinkBall · 07/08/2018 22:26

I suppose it depends, have you ever seen a lot of women in burkas going for job interviews but not getting offered jobs?

In reality the % of the population that wear burkas must be minute so the chances of having one woman in a burka in any company is probably fairly small. Add to that a woman in a burka is probably fairly conservative and is possibly less likely to work outside the home or in a business outside of her religious community.

ManeNachger · 07/08/2018 22:27

Do u work in a pub OP? Or a bookies? They prob wouldnt wanna work there....

Any other indicators your workplace is racist?

Dottierichardson · 07/08/2018 22:27

Poodletip thanks for pointing that out, would add what percentage of people in your company are women? And what are the demographics for the area your company is situated in? This is the second thread this evening about burkas, strange coincidence?

BarbarianMum · 07/08/2018 22:27

Very few women wear the burka in the UK so is it really so strange there are none in your office?

What line of work are you in? Having thought about it, I'd be hard pushed to think of a single role in my organisation that could reasonably done by a person wearing a burka. Finance Officer maybe?

Singlenotsingle · 07/08/2018 22:30

Hahaha! Ahem! (Sorry OP - was this a serious question?)).

Notcontent · 07/08/2018 22:30

As others have pointed out, the proportion on Muslim women in the U.K. who wear the burka is pretty small, and to be honest, if they are that traditional, they probably wouldn’t want to (or would not be permitted to) work outside the home.

I have worked with Muslim women who just wear normal modest clothes and a head scarf - that seems to be the norm in office environments.

Growingboys · 07/08/2018 22:30

OP has not returned. Troll?

JustHereForThePooStories · 07/08/2018 22:32

Nobody in my house wears a burka. We’re obviously racists.

Disquieted1 · 07/08/2018 22:36

Can an inanimate thing like a company be racist? Or does racism only exist in the hearts, minds and actions of people?

Seniorcitizen1 · 07/08/2018 22:39

What a stupid question, what a stupid OP

Rebecca36 · 07/08/2018 22:41

I've lived and worked in London all my life and very rarely seen anyone wearing a burqa. Hijab, yes, and that can look very attractive but burqas aren't worn by that many women.

So, no, your company isn't racist. Are their bewigged and hatted Orthodox Jews, turban wearing Sikhs or feathered headdress wearing Native Americans in your office? I'd be concerned if there wasn't at least one of those ;).

Dottierichardson · 07/08/2018 22:44

Growingboys thinking 'goats' and 'bridges' here too, interesting choice of first post?!

VladmirsPoutine · 07/08/2018 22:46

Yes, it means that your company is racist. Your next steps should be to flag this to HR and see how you can go about organising a company wide retreat in which you can present your facts to all the staff. None of them should be without the benefit of this revelation. Save them from their unruly racist ways!

MsOliphant · 07/08/2018 22:47

OP does have one unanswered other post about some kind of shoe.

Scotgirl80 · 07/08/2018 22:48

I’m Muslim and cannot stop laughing at this post 😂 2% of the uk population are Muslim, of that 2% a very small percentage (less than 1%) wear the burqa. The fact that you saw a group of them has no relevance to wither your company is racist.

badtime · 07/08/2018 22:55

Scot, I think it is actually more likely that the OP saw a few women wearing hijab and is sooooooo sensitive to possible racism that she doesn't know the difference or bother to find out before posting weird GF shit on MN.