CREATING A CULTURE OF RELIGIOUS INCLUSION AND ACCEPTANCE IN THE WORKPLACE Religious inclusion in the workplace is always an issue of concern as companies try to create inclusive company cultures while accepting religious beliefs. But hate crimes are never acceptable, under any circumstances. Of late, there has been a significant rise in anti-Semitic attacks in recent weeks in the US and globally. While these statistics point to an escalation in anti-Semitic bias, this, unfortunately, is not new. According to a recent report from FBI Hate Crimes, Jewish people make up less than 2 percent of the US population, but more than 60 percent of religion-based hate crimes in 2019 targeted Jewish people, an increase of more than 14 percent since 2018.

Companies have the ability to mitigate bias, speak out against violence, and educate their employees about religious inclusion. Through a review of internal policies, training for people managers, and building learning programs through employee resource groups (ERGs), organizations can shift workplace culture to be more inclusive for everyone.

Mitigating Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the Workplace

In the United States, religious discrimination impacts all, with Jewish people reporting the highest rates of hate crimes, followed by Muslims, Catholics, Sikhs, and Eastern Orthodoxs. Recently, there has been an uptick in overt hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim people: on May 16 in Chicago, a synagogue’s security cameras caught two people vandalizing the building with anti-Semitic props, on May 17 in Brooklyn, an Islamophobic statement was spray painted on a Mosque wall, on May 19 in Los Angeles, diners at a sushi restaurant were attacked by people shouting sentiments against Israel, on May 21 in New York City, a Jewish man was attacked by a group of people during a protest in Times Square, and on June 7 in London, Ontario, a group of 4 Muslim people were tragicallyy killed in a hit-in-run in what police believe was an Islamophobic hate crime. While these are clear signs of hate, it can be challenging to determine more subtle versions of discrimination against religious beliefs found in the workplace. Here are some examples: ● Employees being moved to roles that are not consumer-facing to prevent customers and clients from becoming upset or uncomfortable because of religious dress or appearance. ● An employee cannot use technology from Friday evening to Monday morning because of religious observations, but team-building zoom events are held Friday nights. This employee may be labeled as having poor teamwork skills. ● An employee doesn’t drink because of religious beliefs and prefers not to go to bars for workplace functions. This employee may be labeled as anti-social. ● Christmas is a national holiday, but employees typically have to use a vacation day for Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah, etc.

1 Resources: ● For more information on laws on religious discrimination in the workplace, see: EEOC: Religious Discrimination ● For examples on other overt and covert religious discrimination acts in the workplace, see: Tanenbaum: Islamophobia: Challenges and Opportunities in the Workplace

Creating a Workplace Culture of Religious Inclusivity With an understanding of how religious discrimination can present, a company can begin to make needed changes to ensure all employees are protected. Diversity Best Practices at Seramount recommends the following to improve religious inclusion in the workplace: ● Put out a statement, both internal and external, denouncing the discrimination of people based on their religion while avoiding any statement that may be too political. ● Create safe and brave spaces in which to have guided conversations around diverse opinions, being sure to call out any language that is oppositional to inclusive workplace culture. ● Support management personnel in having one-on-one conversations with team members, ● Check internal policies, systems and processes, such as dress codes, to ensure they are explicitly inclusive of religious wear ● Specifically, review time off policies so employees understand their rights to taking religious holidays off. Accommodations can include providing holiday banks, floating holidays, and holiday swapping. ● Review accommodations and related guidelines to enable religious inclusion including providing prayer rooms, spirituality or reflection rooms, establishing separate wash rooms, and empowering managers to offer flexibility in scheduling for daily prayer and meditation needs. The Role of Interfaith Employee Resource Groups in Building an Inclusive Culture ● Interfaith ERGs are an inclusive way for all employees to connect over their beliefs and learn about others, while reducing the possible tension that arises when religion enters the workplace. ● Common ways that interfaith ERGs contribute to a company include: consulting organizational leaders on religious accommodations, advancing the philanthropic goals of the company, and aiding the marketing department in reaching different religious communities. ● To address potential exclusion of employees who identify as atheists or agnostics, companies should make it clear that they are not promoting beliefs, but creating a space for all employees to bring their full selves to work. Leadership must also ensure that anyone, regardless of religious beliefs, can join the interfaith ERG. ● Leadership of the ERG should be composed of employees from a variety of faiths. ERG leaders and executive sponsors should have a strong communications strategy that clearly expresses why the group is needed, emphasizes the inclusivity of the ERG, and specifies the behaviors you want members to engage in. Collaboration between the interfaith group and other ERGs is always recommended. ● For more on this topic, see: Diversity Best Practices: Utilizing Interfaith Employee and Business Resource Groups

2 Resources ● For information on how to address anti-Semitism in your office, see: Tanenbaum: Recommendations: Speaking out against anti-Semitism ● For information on how to include religious-centered accommodations, see: SHRM: Accommodating religion, belied and spirituality in the workplace ● For information on how to support and be proactive for employees that may be more likely to experience discrimination, see: DBP: Protecting Employees from Discrimination & Harassment ● For information on HR’s role in protecting Muslim employees from discrimination, see: Lexology: Islamophobia in the workplace: recommendations for employers

Additional Resources on Religious Inclusion ● Diversity Best Practices: Tech Industry Response to Building a National Muslim Registry ● EEOC: EEOC condemns anti-Semitism in unanimous resolution ● Gartner: 5 ways to support employees and managers amid political and social unrest ● ING: Cultural Diversity Seminar ● Institute of Social Policy and Understanding: Countering and Dismantling Islamophobia ● Interfaith Alliance: American Muslims and religious freedom FAQ ● Jewish Voice for Peace: The Network Against Islamophobia ● Learning for Justice: Countering Islamophobia ● PR Newswire: Entertainment Leaders Call on Celebrities and Influencers to Stop Spreading Misinformation about Israeli-Palestinian Conflict ● Religious Freedom & Business Foundation: Business Case for Workplace Religious Diversity & Inclusion ● Religious Freedom & Business Foundation: Corporate Charter Statements on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) ● Religious Freedom & Business Foundation: Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index 2021 ● Reverb People: Holiday Policies Offer the Flexibility Employees Are Looking for ● Statement by EY’s Kelly Grier, US Chair and Managing Partner and Americas Managing Partner, on the increase in anti-Semitism and violence ● Tanenbaum: Counter Religious Prejudice at Work ● Tri-Faith Initiative: Straight talk in tumultuous times ● University of Victoria: Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression

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