Minority stigma at work in institutionalized religious contexts: a relational perspective
通过访谈巴基斯坦艾哈迈迪亚教派员工，揭示了制度化宗教背景下宗教少数群体在宏观社会、中观组织和微观个体层面面临的污名挑战，以及这些层面如何相互影响。
Workplace diversity literature highlights that religious minority employees often experience stigma, particularly in Western or secular contexts where religious expression is discouraged. However, literature has largely focused on individual-level management of stigma by employees, neglecting structural and power-related dynamics, particularly in contexts with institutionalized religion. Using stigma theory and a relational framework, this study addresses the following question: What multilevel challenges do religious minority employees face in a context with institutionalized religion? Using 36 interviews with Ahmadis, a religious minority in Pakistan, and supplemented with three focus groups with middle and executive-level managers, findings reveal that stigma operates across interconnected levels. At a macro-social level, social stigma of an Ahmadi religious identity and legislative othering influence their work experiences. At a meso-organizational level, these dynamics intersect with workplace politics, hampering career advancement of minority employees. Macro- and meso-level factors influence micro-individual ones with employees struggling to navigate faith-practices and experiencing collective social exclusion in their organizations. The study advances stigma theory by recognizing multilevel, interconnected challenges facing religious minority employees due to institutionalized religion, as well as the role of socio-cultural structures and power in reinforcing stigma. It also highlights the need for organizational interventions to address embedded structural inequalities.