Last week was quite full of interesting equality and diversity news and now that we’ve all had a chance to sit back with our feet up, here’s a snapshot of what we came across in the week that went by. Is caste discrimination covered by the Equality Act 2010? Could the tuition fees be discriminating against Muslims? How are women doing at the top levels? Read to find out.

A first-of-its-kind case alleging caste discrimination is currently going through the Birmingham Employment Tribunal. Vijay and Amardeep Begraj, both of whom worked for a law firm ‘Heer Manak’ prior to their marriage, are claiming that they were subjected to discrimination and harassment by their employer because he did not approve of their inter-caste marriage. Vijay belongs to the Dalit caste (formerly known as the ‘untouchables’ in India – the lowest in the caste hierarchy) while Amardeep is from the Jat community (a higher caste in India). What’s decided in the case could set an important precedent for deciding on similar cases especially because currently it is unclear as to whether the Equality Act 2010 offers protection from caste-based discrimination.

Speaking of discrimination, an article in the Independent last week suggests that the new university tuition fees system could be potentially discriminatory against Muslim students. Under Islamic law, usury or charging of interest on loans is forbidden. A spokesman for the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) said, “Previously, the interest was at the market rate of inflation. The problem now is that the interest is above the market rate. Because the rate of interest is above the rate of inflation, it is quite blatant usury.” The article was closely followed by a response by Nik Darlington in the Huffington Post.

A very interesting report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has estimated that 5,400 women are missing from top jobs in the UK. The report, entitled ‘Sex and Power 2011’, found that little progress has been made in increasing representation of women in top positions in both the public and the private sectors. Its sector-wise study revealed that in some areas, such as the media, local councils and the Cabinet, the participation of women has actually fallen as compared to 2007-08. Read the report’s key figures and summary of findings on the EHRC website. The report recommends greater diversity in top jobs to ‘improve business performance’ and ‘increase levels of corporate social responsibility’.

Talking of improving diversity in jobs, US President Obama has issued an executive order requiring government agencies to develop plans for improving federal workforce diversity. According to the latest Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program Report, women hold 31% of senior positions, African Americans 7% and Latinos 4%.

Lastly, something more celebratory – the last weekend of August saw the annual Notting Hill carnival in London, albeit with more police attendance. More than 6,500 police patrolled the streets to prevent trouble. You can see vibrant pictures from the carnival on the Guardian. The Notting Hill carnival has long been seen as London’s magnificent celebration of its multicultural diversity – let’s not forget that.
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Is there anything you’d like to be included here? Write to a.islam1@lse.ac.uk