Modest Fashion in UK Women's Working Life

该项目着眼于与宗教相关的适度时尚和相关行为如何影响英国女性的工作生活，而不考虑她们自己的宗教背景或信仰。当穿着得体的英国高管在利雅得开会时借用不合身的长袍时，当学校督察员收到关于宗教学校自愿着装规范的指导意见时，当时尚预测人士从宗教媒体中挖掘时尚灵感时，我们提供了一个新的知识框架，帮助人们理解有关宗教着装的热点问题，以符合英国在国内外的利益。通过研究沙特阿拉伯和英国对英国女性的影响，我们扭转了传统观念，证明适度着装不仅仅是宗教女性和社区的考虑因素。了解如何在着装和行为规范上保持适度，对以下方面是有益的：就业市场上的女性、英国海外的经济和政治利益、关注社会凝聚力和宗教间关系的英国政策制定者和对话团体。研究和评论大多是从个人选择和精神/政治承诺的角度来看待适度着装。同样，跨信仰的适度时尚“运动”捍卫女性选择是否、是否以及如何遮盖的个人权利，挑战伊朗、沙特阿拉伯或isis控制地区强制要求遮盖的服装，以及魁北克或法国强制取消遮盖的服装。除了个人动机，我们还探讨了英国女性对职场要求的反应，以改变她们的衣橱和行为——包括有自己适度时尚形式的女性。鉴于穆斯林和少数民族妇女在招聘、保留和晋升方面面临就业挑战，我们调查了与宗教有关的适度着装规范是否可以成为工作场所的机会和阻碍。为了让英国企业明白，关于适度时尚的知识如何能成为一项本地和国际优势，我们纳入了在英国以信仰为基础的雇主工作的女性，以及在受宗教着装规范和性别隔离管辖的地区为表面上世俗雇主工作的女性。在“家里”，我们关注的是那些在宗教学校、企业和慈善机构工作的女性，她们的工作使她们进入了着装要求适度的轨道，无论是直接受雇、分包还是临时存在（例如访问艺术家）。在国外，我们关注在沙特阿拉伯（英国在中东最大的贸易伙伴）开展业务的英国公司，与全球咨询/金融、艺术领导和国际教育领域的女性交谈。我们调查了人力资源专业人士根据英国平等立法为工作中的着装和行为提供建议，以及英国和海湾地区的适度时尚产业基础设施，为适度的工作着装提供服装和风格建议。对于时尚行业，我们识别并分析了一个新的适度时尚消费者群体——不受个人宗教信仰驱动的女性。伦敦是世界时尚之都，是全球化时尚小众市场的中心；我们与伦敦适度时装周和迪拜伊斯兰时装与设计委员会的主要经纪人合作。对于政策制定者和跨宗教组织，我们通过扩大妇女日常宗教的概念，包括在适度的时尚商业和评论中进行的宗教内部和宗教间谈判，来寻找新的对话伙伴。我们将与英国和海湾地区的利益相关者组织分享和测试对我们早期研究结果的反应，包括在全党议会时尚道德和可持续发展小组上发表演讲。结论将通过以下方式传播：2份利益相关者报告（1份供英国政策制定者、商业和人力资源专业人士使用，1份供时尚行业使用）可在网上免费提供，并在上议院网络活动上向利益相关者和议员们发布印刷品；学术会议论文5篇；还有两篇期刊文章。面向公众的活动包括在伦敦时装周和沙特阿拉伯举行的两次信仰与时尚圆桌讨论。

This project looks at how religiously-related modest fashion and associated behaviours impact on UK women's working lives - regardless of their own religious background or beliefs. When well-dressed UK executives borrow badly-fitting abayas for meetings in Riyadh, when schools inspectors are issued with guidance on voluntary dress codes for faith schools and when fashion forecasters mine religious media for style inspiration, we offer a new intellectual framework for understanding flashpoints about religious dress for UK interests at home and abroad. Examining the impact on UK women in Saudi Arabia and the UK, we reverse received wisdom by demonstrating that modest dressing is not only a consideration for religious women and communities. Knowing how to navigate modest codes of dress and behaviour can be an asset for: Women in the job market UK economic and political interests abroad UK policy makers and dialogue groups concerned with social cohesion and interfaith relations Research and commentary mostly view modest dress through the lens of individual choice and spiritual/political commitment. Similarly, the cross-faith modest fashion 'movement' defends women's individual right to choose whether, if and how to cover, challenging the imposition of covered dress in Iran, Saudi Arabia, or ISIS-controlled territories and its enforced removal in Quebec or France. Beyond personal motivation, we explore UK women's response to workplace requirements to change their wardrobe and behaviour - including women with their own form of modest fashion. With Muslim and minority ethnic women facing employment challenges in recruitment, retention and progression, we investigate if religiously-related codes of modest dress can be a workplace opportunity as well as inhibitor. To establish for UK business how knowledge about modest fashion can be a local and international advantage, we include women who work for UK faith-based employers and for ostensibly secular employers but in territories governed by religious codes of dress and gender segregation. At 'home' we focus on women whose work brings them into the orbit of modest dress requirements at faith-based schools, businesses and charities, whether directly employed, sub-contracted, or temporarily present (e.g. visiting artists). Abroad we focus on UK companies doing business in Saudi Arabia (UK's biggest trading partner in the Middle East), talking to women in global consultancy/finance, arts leadership and international education. We investigate Human Resources professionals advising on dress and behaviour at work under UK equalities legislation, and the UK and Gulf modest fashion industry infrastructure supplying garments and style advice for modest workwear. For the fashion industry, we identify and analyse a new modest fashion consumer segment - women not driven by personal religious conviction. London, a world fashion city, is central for the globalised modest fashion niche market; we work with key brokers London Modest Fashion Week and Dubai's Islamic Fashion & Design Council. For policy makers and interfaith organisations, we identify new dialogue partners by expanding concepts of women's everyday religion to include the intra- and interfaith negotiation that goes on in modest fashion commerce and commentary. We will share and test responses to our early research findings with our stakeholder organisations in the UK and the Gulf, including a presentation at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion. Conclusions will be disseminated via: 2 stakeholder reports (1 for UK policy makers, business and HR professionals, 1 for the fashion industry) available free online and launched in print to stakeholders and parliamentarians at a House of Lords networking event; 5 academic conference papers; and 2 journal articles. Public facing events include 2 Faith & Fashion roundtable discussions, at LCF and Saudi Arabia.