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Is it a career advantage to be a Protestant?

Arran Cameron
I was discussing things online with an American engineer who mentioned that engineers in the US tend not to be particularly religious but it's an advantage to be a Protestant if you want to rise to a senior position or go into management. A general trend exists that in lower to middle ranking positions in industry religion is immaterial but above middle positions there is a correlation between seniority and Protestant commitment. That doesn't mean that chief engineers or corporate bosses are holier than thou or even attend church regularly, or more regularly than junior engineers, but they possess a strong knowledge of the Bible and the tenets of Protestantism. They are also admirers of John Calvin and his ideals.


Does a similar phenomenon exist in Britain?
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    Andy,

    With regard to Scotland, at least in the central belt where there is more polarisation, it used to be similar to Northern Ireland in some industries where if you were protestant you could progress (particularly if a member of the Orange Order) while if you were Catholic the lack of progression was down to not being employed in the first place. Thankfully this is not something I have experienced (I am not a Catholic, just against discrimination) and, as far as I am aware, there was never the violence simmering just under the surface as there was in NI, at least not in living memory.

    With regard to the religious beliefs of colleagues, in my previous role as a manager I have in some circumstances asked staff about their religious observances, but this is more to do with making sure I don't suggest something that would be inappropriate. For example, one of the company recommendations was that the manager should take a new employee for lunch on their first day to make sure things were starting well - I had an employee wearing a Hijab start, so I had a brief conversation with her and avoided actually taking her for lunch as it was Ramadan, which she was observing. These conversations had no disadvantageous effect on the employees but helped prevent me from inadvertently suggesting something which might have not been appropriate according to their beliefs.

    Alasdair
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  • 0
    Andy,

    With regard to Scotland, at least in the central belt where there is more polarisation, it used to be similar to Northern Ireland in some industries where if you were protestant you could progress (particularly if a member of the Orange Order) while if you were Catholic the lack of progression was down to not being employed in the first place. Thankfully this is not something I have experienced (I am not a Catholic, just against discrimination) and, as far as I am aware, there was never the violence simmering just under the surface as there was in NI, at least not in living memory.

    With regard to the religious beliefs of colleagues, in my previous role as a manager I have in some circumstances asked staff about their religious observances, but this is more to do with making sure I don't suggest something that would be inappropriate. For example, one of the company recommendations was that the manager should take a new employee for lunch on their first day to make sure things were starting well - I had an employee wearing a Hijab start, so I had a brief conversation with her and avoided actually taking her for lunch as it was Ramadan, which she was observing. These conversations had no disadvantageous effect on the employees but helped prevent me from inadvertently suggesting something which might have not been appropriate according to their beliefs.

    Alasdair
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