CCMW's Voices that Matter Report

A groundbreaking research report investigating the experiences and outcomes of diverse groups of Canadian Muslim women. Spearheaded by CCMW’s Research Consultant Dr. Sarah Shah, the project is the result of an unprecedented intersectional study of Canadian Muslim women.

Read the News Release here.

Voices that Matter’s Findings & Recommendations

The following recommendations emerge from the findings of this report. In implementing these suggestions, policymakers, politicians, and providers are advised to retain the responsibility of speaking with the women they intend to serve, and asking them directly how best to serve them.

The following suggestions may or may not be relevant for all women, whose experiences and needs are nuanced, informed, and structured by the diversity in gender identity, race and ethnicity, geography, class, education and employment status, family structure, and so on.

Specific Needs Identified & their Implications

Specific needs identified by participants in the study based on inequities in their sociodemographic and socioeconomic outcomes have been highlighted below along with associated implications and recommendations.

Labour Market Resources

Most participants in this study were found to be professionally successful only if their work centered on their own (religious, ethnic or immigrant) identity. Women pursuing careers that did not centre on their Muslimness or ethnic identities were found to face a difficult time securing work. This reinforces the viewpoint that Canadian Muslim women are not properly integrated into Canadian society and have careers that highlight their other-ness.

Immigrant integration 

There is a major gap in the professional integration of immigrant Muslim women in Canada. Research indicates lack of systemic and institutional support for newcomers to access work comparable to the work they had prior to immigration. There is an urgent need for credential translation and career transference programs to help newcomers navigate the labour market and address credential deflation. 

Hiring practices 

Assumptions that employers make about Canadian Muslim women were found to act as barriers to employment. Hiring practices need to be critically addressed and assessed for racism, including microaggressions. 

Social Isolation

Old age, widowhood, relocation and language were found to be significant indicators for isolation. Elderly Canadian Muslim women, single mothers and newcomers; particularly newcomers with non-official language skills in the study reported higher feelings of social isolation. Community organizations can address this by offering social support, social spaces and other similar services targeting these groups. In addition, culturally sensitive support networks, hotlines and support groups can also help address these issues.

Inclusion

In terms of inclusion into mainstream Canadian spaces, Canadian Muslim women face the responsibility of educating the (white) Canadian mainstream about themselves. Participants in the study were found to spend significant time and effort in dispelling stereotypes and misconceptions. Canadian community and feminist organizations can address these concerns through education programs and information services to demystify Islam and Muslims to the Canadian public. Likewise, training on how to be better allies to Canadian Muslim and other minority women, and educating Canadians on how to identify and safely respond to racist discrimination and violence can also help address this.

Religious Resources and Support

Gender hierarchies at Masjids and sexist, xenophobic and antiquated beliefs and attitudes of Muslim religious leaders, organizations, and communities were found to be responsible for the disservice of Canadian Muslim women at the margins. Several groups of women in the study reported feeling excluded and unwelcome in mainstream Canadian Muslim spaces, including women who are queer, single mothers, and newcomers who do not speak official languages.

Masjids need to do more to be inclusive of sexual, gender, and sectarian diversity if they are to meet the needs of diverse Canadian Muslim communities. Additionally, they can provide support and resources and/or network with grassroots communities and organizations that cater to more diverse Muslim populations,  Inclusion programs and services can help make diverse groups of Canadian Muslim women feel included within mainstream Muslim spaces. This is especially important as mosques and religious spaces are a safe and familiar place of belonging and community. They function as support systems and are particularly essential for the integration of newcomers in Canada.

Divorce

Religiously-based sexist double standards on divorce were identified as a particularly common and problematic issue by many participants. Knowledge-based resources and services related to divorce can help address the unfair treatment many Canadian Muslim women experience when dealing with divorce. The provision of culturally relevant and affordable legal services and advice can be very beneficial to many Canadian Muslim women at the margins. CCMW has been implementing a legal services project to address these needs. The expansion of services offered and communities targeted through the program is one of CCMW's top priorities. 

Culturally Relevant Services

The need for culturally relevant social and health services was cited by all groups of Canadian Muslim women in the study. This need stems from the participants' uniform experiences of systemic racism within the Canadian health care system. Many respondents recounted having to spend significant time and effort in educating their mental health care providers due to them being unable to understand or relate to the experiences of racial minorities.  Women who speak non-official languages were found to be treated much more poorly than others in the sample. They were often dismissed and denied services and faced protracted delays in access to care and information. 

However, culturally-specific services are just a band-aid solution to these underlying systemic injustices. They are rarely adequate, effective or sufficient to deal with the complexity of these issues. Medical communities and social and health service providers need to critically assess the ways that systemic racism permeates social service and healthcare systems in order to effectively tackle health inequities and disparities. Health care practitioners and medical staff especially need to be reflexively aware of when they dehumanize service recipients. 

Support for Community Organizers

The study found that mainstream service organizations and agencies are failing to provide tangible utility in service provision for diverse populations, and often use superficial tactics in dealing with these groups. Many of the women in the study responded to this service gap by becoming community organizers and resource builders to help create or provide the services they needed. This ranged from causal support for community members experiencing similar situations to creating funded community organizations. One of the most effective ways to support Canadian Muslim women is by creating support for these grass roots organizers, such as mentorship programs and other resource sharing networks.

Disparities within the different groups of Canadian Muslim women

Voices that Matter has identified varying levels of disparities within the different groups of Canadian Muslim women studied. These disparities in outcomes include the following:

Newcomers

Newcomers among Canada’s Muslim women community reported significantly poorer outcomes, especially if they did not speak an official language. The study also revealed that these women were often denied services, dismissed, and dehumanized and they felt ill-equipped to advocate for themselves given language barriers. 

Black and East African Canadian Muslim women

The study found underlying systemic barriers blocking Black Canadian Muslim women from economic integration. In qualitative interviews, these women described being constantly burdened with and confronted by ideological expectations and assumptions.

Single Mothers

While Canadian Muslim single mothers were found to be doing as well as other Canadian Muslim women, the study revealed that they are achieving the same outcomes, but with very limited resources. These women were found to be stretching themselves beyond their means to make ends meet, and reported feeling isolated.

Queer women

Canadian Muslim queer women reported more anxiety and insecurity around their religious and ethnic identities compared to other participants. They reported feeling excluded from social spaces as their Muslim identity others them in queer spaces while their sexual orientation others them in Muslim spaces. 

Women with diverse abilities

The study found that the nonbelonging of Canadian Muslim women with diverse abilities was exacerbated by their diverse abilities and needs. Their experience of having diverse abilities and needs is also framed by their identities as Canadian Muslim women.

The results of this study will be published by CCMW in academic literature and will also be collected into a series of working reports to be presented by CCMW in policy forums. The results may also be shared by CCMW with relevant partners in academia, health care and social service institutions, community agencies, and government departments.

The research report was made possible through financial support from the Federal Department of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE).

For partnership inquiries, opportunities and information:

info@ccmw.com

For media inquiries, interviews and additional information:

media@ccmw.com

For technical questions on the research findings:

Dr. Sarah Shah, PhD, Principal Investigator

Research Consultant, Canadian Council for Muslim Women

Phone: 647-637-851

ABOUT Dr. Sarah Shah

Sarah Shah (they/them), PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, The University of Toronto, Mississauga, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Islamic Studies, The University of Toronto, and a Research Consultant for Canadian Muslim organizations. They are a lead researcher at the Muslims in Canada Data Initiative (MiCDI). Their research focuses on the intersections of religion, family and gender relations, racialization and immigration, and mental health.