ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how female managers in a non-Western Muslim society present, manage, and use their bodies as professional subjects while maintaining their religious piety and respectability. Organisational professionalism is essential in today’s managerial practice for both male and female managers. However, female managers are often disadvantaged because of the enduring stereotype that women are more corporeal than men in a way that makes them seem less rational. This can cost women their career opportunities due to persistent implicit bias and discrimination. A more challenging situation is generally faced by Muslim women with a hijab because their hijab mainly symbolises religious piety that can be seen as inconsistent with the image of professionalism. However, in Muslim-majority countries, I propose that the element of faith, represented by piety, is intertwined with aspects of professionalism and feminine respectability in women’s bodies. This chapter presents an analysis based on a case study of the management of bodies of female managers in a Muslim-majority country - Indonesia.
