Muslim girls are forging ahead at school but hit a brick wall of discrimination when they enter the workplace, the Equal Opportunities Commission says today in a report on its two-year investigation of the experiences of women from ethnic minority communities across Britain. The Guardian, London | Read

When 19-year-old Bangladeshi housemaid Shimoli boarded a train three years ago to go to the Gulf via India, she believed she was travelling to a better life. But sadly it was all to go disastrously wrong. Bangladeshi migrant workers queue for Saudi visas in Dhaka "My whole experience in Kuwait was a nightmare," she said. "I was treated like a slave by the family who hired me and ended up being beaten and threatened with rape.
BBC News | Read

Despite its flock wallpaper, sullen waiters and unflattering lighting, it has long been embraced as the most venerable of British institutions. The curry house has acquired the same status as pubs and Yorkshire pudding, with its Friday night ritual played out by millions. But despite its place in the nation's heart, it emerged yesterday that the future of the £2.5bn curry house industry is under threat; Indian restaurants across the country are in the grip of such a "serious" staffing crisis that the repercussions may be long term
The Independent, London | read

It was about 20 years ago when local authorities first started addressing the shortage of minority ethnic social workers. Not only did they recognise - as many employers have since - the need to reflect the community they serve, but they realised that specific problems in the take-up of social services were arising from a lack of cultural awareness. After all, if you fail to pronounce someone's name correctly, or you turn up at their house during a religious festival, then you don't have much chance of convincing them that you have their best interests at heart.
The Independent, London | Read

Differences in job prospects among England's ethnic minorities are now almost as big as the differences between them and the majority white community, according to a Cabinet Office strategy unit study published yesterday The Guardian | Read

Britain's curry houses are in crisis. After a decade of growth, restaurants are struggling to recruit Asian workers as they shun the trade for alternative careers. TheObserver| Read

British Muslims from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds are having the hardest time of any group in the labour market, according to studies.
The Guardian | Read