#IAM2020 Workplace Discrimination at TfL
Categories: Past Event Articles
Monday November 30 2020
MEND were invited back to present to TfL staff this year after running a successful series of workshops during last years Islamophobia Awareness Month campaign.
This time around the MEND London Regional Manager expanded upon his previous workshop on the causes and cures of Islamophobia by delving deeper into the issues Muslims face in the workplace and how organisations can adopt certain measures to combat this.
The speaker firstly shared the contributions Muslims have made to society, in particular this year to the response to COVID 19. The presentation slide showed images on the first 6 NHS Doctors and Nurses to pass away on the front line whilst treating the sick, all of them being Muslim. Beyond the NHS the presentation showed some of the contributions of Muslim community members supporting their vulnerable neighbours with groceries and hot meals.
The speaker then explained that despite this positivity Muslims do still face hate crimes and discrimination. In particular it was mentioned that between 2017 and 2020 there have been over 30 incidents reported directly to MEND that have taken place on the TfL network.
After this the audience were educated about the 10 different ways Muslims can be discriminated in the workplace ranging from extreme difficulty in getting job interviews to discrimination in promotion opportunities. The London regional manager then put forth a few solutions for TfL to adopt to help tackle this issue such as adopting name blind applications and ensuring Muslim employees have flexible working hours during the month of Ramadan.
One key thing all staff can do to reduce Islamophobia is to report it to the police or services. At this juncture a MEND volunteer shared her experience of Islamophobia with the British Transport Police who suspected her of being a terrorist after misreading a message on her phone whilst she faced verbal abuse from a fellow train passenger in the presence of the police. The volunteer used the IRU service to force the BTP to formally apologise for their misconduct.
MEND hopes to continue working alongside Transport for London to reduce hate crime across the capital.