Category White.Male.German.

“Where are you from?”I have often asked this question.And I know that it can hurt people. For me, it was never meant to be derogatory.It was an attempt to place the other person, to understand,…

Everyone asks this question at some point,in their career, in their life, in their family. But for me, it was never a question of arrival.I never had to locate myself in a country that calls…

“You can’t really understand that.”I hear this sentence often.Not as a direct reproach, more between the lines. And it is true.I have never started over in a foreign country.But I do know what a new…

I’m not an expat. I don’t have a migration background.I grew up here. I speak the language, know the codes, and fit in without trying. That’s why it took me a long time to hear…

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,…

I’m not an expert. I just grew up inside this system.And because of that, I never had to think about it:My first internships, jobs, even apartments came through people I already knew. For me, that…

I’m convincing – because I sound familiar I’m not an expat.I don’t have a migration background. I speak plainly.I sound familiar.And in most rooms, that’s enough to be convincing. Not because I learned it.But because…

Being German. Being critical.For many of us, the two are closely linked.Even if we don’t say it that way. At school, we are taught to challenge texts,in university, to question theories,at work, to spot weaknesses,in…

Recently, I wrote about how our systems are often less open than we like to believe, especially when it comes to recruitment. Today, I want to show what that means in practice. Especially for international…

In my last post I asked what to expect from me. Today I want to ask instead: what should we expect from the label “Made in Germany”? Is it a promise, or is it an…

Growing up in a small German village, I hardly ever met anyone who had moved to Germany. “Integration” simply meant assimilation: people should adapt to our customs, language and ways of life. It wasn’t until…

I’m not an expat.I don’t have a migration background.And I’ve never had to prove that I belong in Germany. But I do know what it means to be part of a system. One that often…

I see it time and again:International professionals bring everything you’d expect, education, experience, motivation, and still face rejection. Often even automatically.No conversation. No real chance. And I keep asking myself:How does this match the loud…

In my previous post, I reflected on what structural openness really looks like and where support and flexibility could make a real difference. Today, I want to look at the other side.At the people who…