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Diversity in the Federal Administration: The Case of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

How diverse is the federal administration – and how does it handle diversity? This study is the first comprehensive examination of diversity and anti-discrimination in a supreme federal authority, covering all dimensions protected under the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) as well as social origin, family care responsibilities, and place of birth in East/West Germany. The findings show: Groups vulnerable to discrimination are in some cases underrepresented, in others overrepresented. 16.2% of employees report experiences of discrimination. According to over 52.9% of employees, the greatest obstacle to promoting diversity is a lack of awareness regarding missing representation. At the same time, employees are very open to change – and bring many competencies and concrete ideas.

Project Information

  • Conducted by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) in cooperation with the Center for Data-driven Empowerment, Leadership and Advocacy (zedela) and CFE
  • Funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
  • Project duration: 2021–2023
  • Publication: May 2024

Methodology

  • 50 semi-structured individual interviews (qualitative employee survey)
  • 317 employees in quantitative online survey (response rate 33.5%)
  • 3,724 potential applicants in quantitative population survey
  • Dimensions surveyed: gender, disability/impairment, “ethnic” origin/racist attribution, sexual identity, age, religion/worldview, as well as social origin, family care responsibilities, place of birth in East/West Germany

Key Findings

1. Representation in the Ministry

  • Employees vulnerable to racism: 4.2% in the ministry vs. 18.7% in the general population
  • Employees with migration background: 17.2% vs. 30.6%
  • Employees from non-academic parental households: 27.1% vs. 76%
  • Women: 72.6% vs. 46.8% (overrepresented)
  • Queer employees: 14.1% vs. 9% (overrepresented)
  • East German employees: 32.9% vs. 20% (overrepresented)

2. Gender and Leadership

  • Women are overrepresented overall (72.6%), but not to the same extent at leadership level (64.2%)
  • 75% of male executives have care responsibilities for children, compared to only 57.7% of female executives – a gap of nearly 20 percentage points

3. Workplace Climate and Discrimination

  • 78.4% of employees enjoy their work; 76.8% are proud of their profession
  • 16.2% of employees report experiences of discrimination in the past five years
  • Particularly affected: employees with disabilities/impairments, with immigration history, those vulnerable to racism, and non-Christian employees
  • The majority of discrimination situations relate to performance evaluation and promotion

4. Awareness of Support Measures

  • 40% of respondents are unaware of the overview of contact points for discriminatory behavior
  • 33.5% are unaware of the AGG complaints office
  • The most common reason for not reporting incidents: the assessment that it would not lead to positive change

5. External Perception and Recruitment

  • The federal administration is rated as particularly attractive by people vulnerable to racism and those with non-Christian religious affiliations
  • People from groups vulnerable to discrimination more frequently anticipate discrimination and experience exclusion during the application process
  • 38% of respondents mistakenly believe that German citizenship is a requirement for employment in the federal administration

Recommendations

Organizational Culture

  • Continuous dialogue on diversity through internal exchange and discussion formats
  • Creating a shared understanding of discrimination in cooperation with groups vulnerable to discrimination
  • Strengthening managers in their responsibility for promoting diversity and equal opportunities
  • Creating empowerment spaces for groups vulnerable to discrimination

Organizational Structure

  • Strengthening the office of the Diversity Officer and existing employee networks
  • Greater visibility of the AGG complaints office and more concrete procedures in cases of discrimination
  • Establishing continuous monitoring and reporting mechanisms

Personnel Development

  • Incorporating equality, diversity, and anti-discrimination competence in performance evaluations
  • Ensuring the application of non-discrimination principles in assessments

External Perception and Recruitment

  • Further development of target group-specific communication campaigns
  • Transparent communication of information about the application process
  • Discrimination-sensitive design of application processes

Citation

DiBu Project Group (2024). Diversity in the Federal Administration: The Case of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. DeZIM Project Report 11. Berlin: German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM).

DiBu Project Group

Joshua Kwesi Aikins, Samera Bartsch, Fabio Best, Teresa Bremberger, Annette Gräfe-Geusch, Liam Haller, Miriam Meksem, Friederike Römer, Deniz Yıldırım-Caliman, Sabrina Zajak

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