For the first time in U.S. history, Arab people will be acknowledged on the U.S. Census. On Thursday, the Office of Management and Budget announced that Middle Eastern or North African will be added as race category on the next census conducted in 2030. An estimated 8 million people in the United States whose ancestral roots tie back to the Middle East or North Africa won’t have to select “Other” as their ethnicity. This landmark decision is just a small step in the right direction.
There’s so much more work to be done when it comes to acknowledging Arab people. Arab representation is lacking across the board. From entertainment to corporate America, Arab people and their stories are few and far between. Portrayals of Arab people in film and television are often reduced to trauma porn and tragedy. According to Annie Zeina, who is Lebanese American, Arab people experience erasure. And that applies to the workplace.
Zeina has been working in fashion public relations for over 5 years. She expressed that there aren’t many Arab people in her industry, and she wants to see more discussion surrounding Arab inclusion in DEI.
“Arab culture is often forgotten,” she told me. “We’ve had such a great renaissance when it comes to Native American stories. This award season you’ve seen so many amazing Black stories. I wish that there was something to look at and say there’s my culture being played out.”
“When people think about diversity they think of different groups of people. We need to have more diversity as far as the Black community or people of color. I feel like the one box I have never checked or even on the application or anything of that sort is Middle Eastern. I don’t think people consider us sometimes. We’re excluded from that diversity,” she added.
The lack of Arab representation in DEI is a problem. DEI tends to focus on cultural inclusion but Arab people are rarely mentioned when it comes to DEI initiatives and efforts. This especially applies to Arab women, who are depicted in extremely negative ways in film and television. That’s why I spoke with some Arab women about how lack of Arab representation specifically leads to erasure of Arab women in the workplace and beyond.
Arab Women Deserve Recognition
Arab women have contributed so much to society. For example, an Arab woman established the first university in the world. Now, there are thousands of colleges and universities all of which are modeled after something an Arab woman initially created. Arab women deserve recognition for their contributions to both society and the workplace.
Sadly, racism and prejudice have held some of them back from thriving in their careers. That’s what Essraa Nawar, the dean of library DEI initiatives and development at Chapman University, told me.
“Arab women face stereotypes and cultural biases that may underestimate their abilities and contributions. Recognizing their achievements helps to break down these stereotypes and promotes a more inclusive and diverse understanding of their roles in various industries,” she said.
Nawar has excelled in her career despite facing some prejudice for being an Egyptian and Muslim woman who wears a headscarf. She has received numerous accolades over the course of her career and even gave a TED Talk in 2015. She hopes to see more Arab women and people get recognized for what they bring to the workplace.
Zeina also wants to see Arab women get more recognition for their contributions at work “because it offers a different narrative than what has been portrayed for so many years.” She also said the following. “It gives us a wider view of what’s happening. And maybe if we understand each other more we can have more empathy and more discussions about things that are happening overseas that people maybe don’t understand,” she said.
Arab Women Need Allies At Work
Authentic allyship is a huge part of creating psychological safety for people of color in the workplace. Holding space for your BIPOC colleagues isn’t just about listening to them or acknowledging culturally themed months. This month is Arab American Heritage Month, but it doesn’t mean Arab stories and contributions shouldn’t be acknowledged year round. Genuine allies care about Arab people and their stories every single day. Allies should advocate for more Arab representation when it comes to discussing DEI. DEI does not mean choosing a select few groups of people of color to care about. It means acknowledging and addressing issues pertaining to any and all underrepresented groups.
I spoke with Nawar and Zeina about why Arab women need allies in the workplace. Zeina told me she thinks Arab women need allies at work “to humanize people.” She didn’t hold back when it came to discussing how Arab women have been diminished to stereotypes and hashtags. “With social media it’s hard to humanize an issue. Everything seems very much like hashtag humanizing people and culture. Arab culture is so beautiful. We all stick together. Sometimes it can feel a little lonely in the workplace because you don’t find people that come from backgrounds like you,” Zeina said. Having authentic allies can make being the only person of color at work feel less lonely. Real allies will advocate for you even when you aren’t around.
“Allies can help challenge and break down the stereotypes and biases that Arab women may face in the workplace. This includes assumptions about their capabilities, ambitions, or work-life balance preferences. Allies can support Arab women by recognizing and advocating for their skills, contributions, and potential,” said Nawar.
Arab Women Are Not A Monolith
Every country in the Middle East and North Africa has a unique culture that differs from surrounding countries. And similar to the United States, there are subcultures within each country and city in the Arab world. But the media portrays the Arab world as a collective of people who all look and act the same. This especially applies to Arab women who are often portrayed as victims of crime, terrorism, or sexual violence in television and film. But Arab women are so much more than stereotypical depictions created by the media. Arab women and people are incredibly diverse.
“The Arab world is immensely diverse, encompassing a vast range of ethnicities, cultures, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds. This diversity means that the experiences and identities of Arab women are not uniform; they vary widely across different countries and communities,” Nawar told me. And allies in the workplace can’t actually be inclusive of Arab women without understanding that they are not a monolith.
Not all Arab women are Muslim. Not all Arab women wear a burqa or head scarf. Not all Arab women are victims of terrorism. Arab women are so much more than their pain. Arab women matter and so does their joy. It’s time that Arab women and people be uplifted, supported, seen, and heard in the workplace and in DEI.
“There are many pervasive stereotypes about Arab women, often perpetuated by limited representation in media and discourse. Understanding the multifaceted nature of their lives helps break down these stereotypes and allows for a more nuanced and accurate representation,” said Nawar.
So, next time your team gets together to discuss how you can be more culturally inclusive don’t just focus on Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian representation– include Arab people too. Misrepresentation of Arab people in the media has kept Arab representation out of DEI– and it’s time for that to change.