Survey: few descendants of immigrants in the federal administration

Immigrants and their descendants are still significantly underrepresented in the federal administration despite efforts for diversity. This is shown by the results of a current investigation that the integration officer’s office has published. According to this, 16.2 percent workers worked in the federal administration last year with a migration background – that is 3.1 percent more than five years earlier.

The proportion of people with a migration background in the employable population is therefore 31.9 percent and is therefore almost twice as large. People are considered employees with a migration background in the sense of the investigation if they do not have German citizenship through birth themselves or at least one parent.

Integration officer Pawlik sees a need for action

“We still do not adequately use the potential of people with immigration history in the public service. We have to change that,” said the integration officer, Natalie Pawlik.

In May and June last year, more than 50,000 employees were interviewed in 73 federal authorities. The currently published figures also show that people with a migration background who work there are frequently exposed to discrimination than their colleagues without an immigration history. Discrimination on the basis of gender and gender identity, age, ethnic origin, religion, disability, family obligations, appearance, skin color and a lack of professional networks.

Discrimination based on ethnic origin

While 15.6 percent of the employees reported discrimination experiences without an immigration history, the proportion of people who migrated themselves was 23.6 percent. Every fourth (25.6 percent) of the descendants of immigrated people reported discrimination in the workplace.

The Federal Cabinet had decided in January, i.e. at the time of the traffic light government, a strategy entitled “Together for more diversity in the federal administration”. There were no concrete requirements. The federal authorities, however, were recommended, among other things, to “determine internal destinations for diversity and to derive the corresponding individual measures” as well as to promote the establishment of employee networks.