In today’s ‘The week that was’ – debate on Channel 4’s decision to live broadcast Muslim call to prayer every morning during Ramadan, David Mitchell shares his experience of coming to terms with his son’s diagnosis of autism, how women may be pulled away from their male peers at corporate networking events and three trans employees discuss hurdles in the workplace.

This week will see the commencement of Ramadan – a month of fasting for Muslims all over the world. With early dawn and late dusk during summer, Ramadan in Britain could mean up to 19 hours of fasting every day! This year, Channel 4 has announced that it will live broadcast the Muslim call to prayer every morning during Ramadan with the intention of provoking viewers who associate Islam with terrorism and extremism. This has led to an interesting debate on whether such intended ‘provocation’ is cultural education or exploitation.

Last week, we mentioned Sally Gardner’s article on her experience of dyslexia. This week, we came across this excellent article by the novelist David Mitchell on learning to live with his son’s autism. From the first diagnosis to learning what autism means in real life to the parents and to the child, the article narrates how understanding what it’s like to live inside an autistic mind is ‘enlightening’.

Why women don’t make it to the top in businesses has been a hot topic for some time now. Marijo Bos, president of the European Professional Women’s Network, thinks networking at corporate events is important but women find themselves being pulled by the ‘gender magnet’ – “the unconscious ways businesswomen are separated from their male peers outside of the actual office.” Bos writes, “It’s a feeling most businesswomen will be familiar with – the frustration and disappointment you feel when attending a corporate event and it seems only ‘natural’ that you socialise with the wives of your peers.” She suggests changing the nature of corporate events and raising awareness of unintended ways in which women may be pulled back.

Finally, an interesting write-up by three trans employees on the hurdles they’ve faced in the workplace and how they’ve overcome challenges to achieve success – Transgender professionals tell how they get over hurdles in the workplace.

That’s it for this week! Send your contributions to Equality.and.Diversity@lse.ac.uk.