A BBC report has recently found a pattern of discrimination against Muslims in the job market in England.
BBC’s investigative journalism team Inside Out sent in reporters under cover for various job applications and found that Muslim applicants were offered fewer jobs than non-Muslims.
One pair, with similar qualifications and eligibility, was set out to apply for 40 different jobs. The non-Muslim candidate managed to get 13 interviews and secure one job offer while the Muslim applicant managed to get only three interviews.
The team also secretly filmed job application procedures in a supermarket that was looking for a manager, a store supervisor and a driver. When the Muslim candidate “Zoltan” approached the supermarket for a position there he was told the job had been filled, while the non-Muslim candidate “Ian” who went five minutes later was told there are several positions available, according to the BBC website.
After the release of this investigation, the supermarket thanked Inside Out for bringing this matter to the fore and said they are investigating it.
Baroness Warsi, the United Kingdom government's Faith and Communities Minister, told the BBC that it is vital for discrimination policies to be applied at a grass-roots level.
The report comes months after Drummer Lee Rigby, a British soldier, was slaughtered in London by two men who claimed they attacked him because he had killed Muslims in Afghanistan.
The attack led to many protests and a surge in anti-Muslim activities in the country, notably the stabbing of four Muslim men inside a mosque only weeks later.