In today’s (late) digest of weekly equality and diversity news: landmark equal pay judgement, high rate of unemployment among young black men, and Ed Miliband’s criticism of belittling of mental illnesses.

The first mention today goes to the landmark judgement in the Birmingham city council equal pay case. The Supreme Court ruled that a total of 174 former Birmingham City Council workers can go ahead with compensation claims over the next 6 years. The court heard the women were among workers who had been denied bonuses which had been given to staff in traditionally male-dominated jobs such as refuse collectors, street cleaners, road workers and grave diggers. The ruling has opened door for discrimination cases to be heard in civil courts.

According to a Trades Union Congress (TUC) report published last week, young black men have experienced the sharpest rise in unemployment since the coalition came to power, with more than one in four of all black 16-24 year olds (26 per cent) currently out of work. Young black women are the next most likely to be out of work (17 per cent), followed by white and Asian men (both 16 per cent). The analysis shows that men are more likely to be unemployed than women amongst all ethnic groups, though the gender divide is starkest among white and black youngsters.

And finally, the good bit about drafting this digest late in the day, news from today about Ed Miliband’s criticism of belittling and caricaturing of mental illnesses. Miliband particularly criticised Jeremy Clarkson and Janet Street-Porter for demeaning people with mental health issues. See the full text of Miliband’s speech.

That’s all for today! Write to us – Equality.and.Diversity@lse.ac.uk.