Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) is organising a PhD Management Dissertation Defence, “A Multilevel, Contextual and Intersectional Perspective of Religious Diversity Management” by Mehr Farhan Cheema, Candidate PhD Management.
May 22, 2026
Time:
2:30 pm
Faculty Lounge, 4th Floor, SDSB
Dissertation Defence Committee
Dr Jawad Syed- Supervisor & Chair
Dr Faiza Ali– Member SDSB
Dr Ummad Mazhar– Member SDSB
Dr Ali Usman Qasmi ‐ Member (LUMS)
Dr Shehla Arifeen- External Examiner (LSE)
Abstract
Previous literature on religious diversity has generally focused on challenges facing religious minority employees in organizational spaces of the Global North. With rising immigration and globalization, alongside increasing xenophobia and Islamophobia, religious minority employees often experience stigmatization, leading to significant workplace challenges. While the stigma of religious minority employees is recognized in business and management research, it is less known how stigma for minority employees appears in contexts where religion is institutionalized in legal and societal structures. Institutionalized religion plays a significant role in shaping business practices and organizational norms, especially in parts of the Global South, including South Asia. Despite notable contributions, existing diversity literature has considered organizational experiences of religious minority employees, with a limited consideration of macro-national factors (such as laws, societal norms, role of religion) which impact their workplace experiences. Moreover, among strategies of religious minority employees in navigating workplace challenges, organization studies have largely considered their individual management of these challenges at work, without an explicit consideration of macro-national factors which may impact their experiences and responses. Keeping these gaps in view, the present thesis adopts a relational, contextual and intersectional perspective of workplace experiences of religious minority employees in South Asia, specifically Pakistan.
Findings from this thesis suggest that careers of religious minority employees are affected by a myriad of multilevel factors, and their inclusion at work can be improved through interventions at the multiple levels. This thesis also highlights specific strategies of religious minority employees in navigating structural challenges and power relations, beyond organizational challenges. For example, religious minority employees construct a hybrid identity between majority and minority employees to both assimilate at work and uphold their religious identity.
