The city of Potsdam is stepping up efforts to diversify its administration. In response to a parliamentary inquiry from the local opposition party Die Andere, the city announced plans to actively recruit employees with migrant backgrounds and align staff demographics more closely with the city’s population.

According to the response, the city will launch its own Instagram channel and develop targeted outreach campaigns to attract applicants from underrepresented backgrounds. The goal is to match the proportion of employees with migrant heritage to that of the general population. As of 2022, only about 2 percent of Potsdam’s municipal employees had a migrant background — compared to nearly 18 percent of residents.

The initiative builds on the city’s integration strategy released last year by Amanda Palenberg, Potsdam’s Commissioner for Migration and Integration. In that document, she criticized the lack of diversity in local government and called for more inclusive hiring practices.

To support the change, the city says it will proactively advise managers on inclusive recruitment and decision-making. „We are actively supporting leadership in adopting more diverse candidate selection practices,“ reads the city’s statement. This includes efforts to address unconscious bias not just around ethnicity and origin, but also gender.

Mandatory diversity training for managers – but no budget in sight

A key part of the plan is mandatory anti-discrimination and intercultural sensitivity training. By 2029, all municipal leaders are expected to complete the program. So far, however, no detailed concept has been developed, and financial resources remain scarce. Due to current budget constraints, the city has not allocated any additional funding for these measures. Training will also extend to apprentices and dual-study students working in municipal departments. tagesspiegel.de