Study assesses ‘gendered space’ in financial institutions in Pakistan

In Islamic cultures, purdah, which literally means “curtain,” is a practice that involves the seclusion of women from public observation and the enforcement of high standards of female modesty. Research published in the Journal of Management Studies examines the significance of purdah (spatial modesty) in gender relations in financial institutions in Pakistan.

The research was based on the lived experiences of women and men working in two banks based in Pakistan. One of the study’s co-authors, Shafaq Chaudhry, Ph.D., of the University of Central Lancashire, in the UK, sought internships for six weeks in each bank as a means for her to collect data.

The investigators found that the workspace of Pakistani banks is gendered in ways that reflect the practices of purdah (spatial modesty), while being adjusted and resisted to fit with the cultural practices of each individual organization. The study also demonstrated tensions that exist between attempts to develop a career and achieve professional goals for women, with the demands placed on them by the norms of spatial modesty.

“Efforts are needed to understand and study any additional ways through which spatial modesty is practiced in the workplace,” said Dr. Chaudhry.