I never had to ask myself whether I was hired because of my difference.
I was the norm.
Maybe that’s why I only realized later: in German companies, diversity often works quietly.
Not as a big campaign, but as a checkbox.
Not as a visible stance, but as a process.
For me, it felt self-evident:
• A note in the job ad, but hardly any words in everyday work.
• Forms asking for dimensions, but teams rarely discussing what they mean.
• Someone gets hired for being “different” – and then the expectation is that this difference quietly blends in.
Of course, people are hired for their qualifications.
But if difference is part of the package, it is rarely made explicit what that actually means.
From inside the system, this feels consistent: Germany likes structures, metrics, performance.
Diversity isn’t told in stories, but measured in contribution – to the product, the market, the team.
Maybe that’s why it feels so quiet.
The expectation is: difference should work – without too many words.
But that silence carries a risk.
If nobody says what the difference was meant to bring, it remains invisible.
Maybe this is the mirror:
Do we really see diversity as competence – or only as compliance?
And do we allow difference to actually speak?
Quiet Diversity
