A comment on German discrimination law...

... from THIS WEEK IN GERMANY:


Most Germans are probably unaware that we have such a thing as an Anti Discrimination Agency. Even fewer would have an idea what they actually do there from nine to five. Our small article in this week’s newsletter will probably not be able to shed much more light on this important question. The whole subject sounds somehow full of good intentions, yet remains rather abstract and shrouded in the deep mystery of bureaucratic lingo.
This brings us straight to the heart of the matter. We all wholeheartedly agree that discrimination is a bad thing and needs to be banned from both the workplace and the public space such as city hall or the grocery store. But we seem at a loss as to what we, the people, can do as individuals to further such worthy cause. The more since we, in our own private lives, cannot truthfully claim that we treat everybody absolutely equal. Of course we would never openly admit to that, yet we all know it is true. We feel safe in the knowledge that nobody will sue us suspecting that he has not been invited to our birthday party because of racial, religious, sexual or other prejudice.
The legal situation reflects the social and demographic change post-war Germany has seen since the inception of its constitution, the Grundgesetz. As men and women together account for exactly 100 percent of our population, the main emphasis has for a long time been to make gender equality a reality, especially in economic terms. That fight is not over yet. In the meantime, our focus has widened to other areas of actual or perceived discrimination: race and ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, disabilities, age. These at least are the criteria listed in our Anti-discrimination Law of 2006, and I have little doubt that it will be further amended as we go along.
Passing a such law and creating a body to watch over its implementation was an important achievement. But in order to create a society free of discrimination, a lot more needs to be done, and that will take time. Hence the idea of supporting and funding social networks to raise awareness among my fellow citizens.
As always, charity begins at home. I am still not quite sure whether I feel comfortable to submit the invitation list for my next birthday party for public scrutiny, but maybe I should ask my teenage son to take me along for his next high school dance. Our youth should be encouraged not to discriminate against old age.

Bernd von Muenchow-Pohl