Abstract:
This paper explores the ongoing occupational marginalization of religious minorities including Christians, Hindus and Sikhs in the public sector universities of Islamabad, despite the constitutional guarantees of equality and the establishment of a 5% minority employment quota. The study uses the sequential mixed-method design which combines both quantitative data gathered in eleven public sector universities and qualitative interviews of minority employees, human-resource staff, administrators, and policymakers. Based on the Social Justice Theory by Fraser, the Critical Race Theory, and the Neo-Institutional Theory, the analysis shows that one of the effects of vertical and horizontal segregation is ever-present. Almost all the minority employees, who are mainly Christians, are overrepresented in low-level service jobs and are significantly underrepresented in scholarly and decision-making roles. The empirical results point to the lack of policy implementation, weak monitoring systems, the presence of informal recruitment paths, and the overall insensitivity to the importance of affirmative action programs as the key factors contributing to the continued marginalization. There is little open discrimination that is reported, but institutional inertia and cultural biases are still barriers to substantive inclusion. The research ends with future policy suggestions that will improve monitoring, transparency, representation, and institutional processes, and improve equity in the higher education sector in Pakistan.
