“What you do for me, but without me, you do against me” — the exact origin of this quote is unclear. Nevertheless, it captures something that frequently happens in Germany when it comes to the political participation of historically excluded groups. Policies are supposedly made for migrants, yet not with them. Gender equality is debated while no women are involved in the negotiations. Assumptions are made about people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, yet no one actually speaks to them to find out what they truly need. As a result, politics often misses its target. Well-intentioned but poorly executed sums up the status quo.
Article 20 of Germany’s Grundgesetz states: “All state authority is derived from the people.” This is the core principle of modern democracies. Yet under the current interpretation of this principle, democracy often amounts to little more than going to the polling station every four or five years and casting a vote. In between elections, people wait for the next one, complain about politics, but beyond that, very little happens. What is missing is genuine participation — at different levels and accessible to everyone.
Democracy faces a serious legitimacy problem
At SAP’s Diversity Day last week, where representatives of WahlheYmat took part as panellists, one thing became clear: democracy does not just take place at the ballot box. It also happens in the workplace, in the fight against inequality, in the pursuit of fair working conditions, and in the representation of marginalised groups.
Camilla Baldas, a Consultant for Analytics & Insights at SAP, spoke about how underrepresented women still are within the company. Together with others, she actively leads a women’s network at SAP — and men are explicitly encouraged to take part. They are meant to act as democratic allies who support women in becoming more visible. Sanket Totewar, a Product Manager at SAP, is also active on the works council. His goal is to create representation for people who have come to Germany from many different countries to work at SAP.
Ivan Gabor and Deana Mrkaja from WahlheYmat once again highlighted that in a city of nearly four million inhabitants, where almost one million people are not allowed to vote, democracy as we know it faces a serious legitimacy problem.
Democracy is not just about politics
The Diversity Day demonstrated that democracy is not just about politics, but about participation and visibility across all areas of society. The good news is that democracy is not set in stone. It is adaptable because it does not pursue a fixed ideology or a final destination. It is flexible and evolves with the times.
The bad news is that this also makes it vulnerable to forces that seek to use democratic means in order to undermine democracy itself. That is precisely why action is needed now. Nearly one million people do not have a place at the negotiating table. We need to change that fact.
