Dr. Samir Sweida-Metwally

| ON THE JOB MARKET 2027-2028

Samir

Sweida-Metwally

Postdoctoral Researcher at New York University Abu Dhabi

➕ Organizational Inequality ➕Labor Markets and Employment ➕Job Quality and Worker Experience ➕Survey Design and Data Collection ➕Experimental and Advanced Quantitative Methods ➕Causal Inference ➕Religious Inequality and Islamophobia ➕Public Policy

Research

My work sits at the intersection of labour markets, organizational practice, and public policy, with a particular focus on religion in the workplace and Islamophobia. I examine how organizational conditions and managerial decisions shape employment access, job quality, and employees’ experiences at work.

I develop theoretical frameworks for understanding macro- and meso-level organizational mechanisms, translating rigorous research into evidence to inform public policy, institutional design, and organizational decision-making.

Using advanced quantitative and experimental methods for causal inference, I assess how workplace structures and managerial practices produce inequality, with a view to identifying effective evidence-based solutions to improve employees’ working lives, organizational performance, labour-market participation, and wider economic and social outcomes.

My research has contributed to policy discussions, including briefings for Australia’s first Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia and his team, and has received international media attention.

Before joining academia, I worked in the private sector in the UK and the UAE. I bring more than 15 years of strategic advisory and research experience, including advising governments and semi-government entities, as well as C-suite leaders of multinational organizations. Alongside my academic work, I continue to advise public-sector institutions and multinational corporations, using data science to develop effective policy solutions.

I am trilingual in English, Arabic, and French.

Publications

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🎓 JOB MARKET PAPER

"Religion at Work: A Theory of Organizational Inequality" [First Author, with Makovi K., and Frimpong, J.A. - PREPARING FOR SUBMISSION]

*Draft available upon request*

2025

"Beyond Racism: Re-centering Religious Hostility in the Conceptualization of Islamophobia", Ethnicities

Policy impact: Research prompted outreach from Australia’s first Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia (appointed by the Australian Prime Minister), leading to ongoing discussions on research-policy collaboration. He also designated the article as required reading for his team.

"French Islamophobia: How Orthopraxy Is Conceptualized as a Public Peril", Religions [Equal contribution with Lienen, C.]
"Islamophobia: The Discursive Apparatus of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza, Palestine", Critical Sociology

2022

"Does the Muslim penalty in the British labour market dissipate after accounting for so-called ‘sociocultural attitudes’?", Ethnic and Racial Studies

Press coverage: The Guardian, The National, Arab News, Morocco World News, Daily Sabah, Islam Channel, The Mirage, University of Bristol press release, ‘Read of the Day’ in The Bridge Initiative newsletter (Georgetown University), Muslim Women Network, and an in-depth television interview on Islam Channel.

Under Review

"Workplace Voice and Bullying Disclosure: Race and Gender Differences in Disclosure Behavior" [First Author, with Makovi K., Shepherd H., and Frimpong, J.A.]
"Muslim Women and Job Autonomy in Britain: Religion, Gender and Workplace Inequality" [First Author, with Cheung, SY.]

Works in Progress

"Manager Responses to Workplace Accommodation Requests: Experimental Evidence on Political Ideology in the United States" [First Author, with Makovi K., and Frimpong, J.A. - DATA ANALYSIS]
"Access, Stability, and Mobility: Muslim Employment Disadvantage in Britain, 2009–2024" [Single Author - DATA ANALYSIS]
"Who Enforces Transparency at Work? Status, Disclosure, and Unequal Production of Workplace Transparency" [Second Author, with Kawashima, T., Makovi K., and Frimpong, J.A. - DATA ANALYSIS]

Teaching

New York University Abu Dhabi

AY 2024/25 Islam and Society

Guest Lecturer • Fall Semester

Capstone

Feedback Panelist • Fall Semester

AY 2023/24 Racisms and Race

Guest Lecturer • Fall Semester

Islam and Society

Guest Lecturer • Fall Semester

Capstone

Feedback Panelist • Fall Semester

University of Bristol

AY 2020/21 Foundation in Arts and Social Sciences

Supervisor • Spring Semester

Convincing Stories? Numbers as Evidence in Social Science

Graduate Teacher (level 2) • Fall Semester

AY 2019/20 Social Identities & Divisions

Graduate Teacher (level 1) • Fall Semester

Convincing Stories? Numbers as Evidence in Social Science

Graduate Teacher (level 2) • Fall Semester

Professional Experience

Prior to academia, I worked at J.P. Morgan in London and later in strategic advisory roles in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, advising C-suite leaders across multinational corporations as well as government and semi-government organizations. My broader experience includes policy and applied research with the UK Department for Work and Pensions and UNHCR, as well as corporate consultancy work, including for Microsoft.