Support women from marginalized communities

Building on the strong foundation established earlier in 2025, the SWANS Initiative continued to expand its impact through strategic event participation and tailored career programs for academic women with immigrant backgrounds, Women of Color, and Black women. In the second phase of the year, our focus increasingly shifted toward direct career access, industry exposure, and professional advancement.

A key component of this work was SWANS’ active presence at major IT and career fairs. On 12 September 2025, SWANS attended the ITCS Cologne fair, followed by ITCS Munich on 24 October 2025 and ITCS Frankfurt on 28 November 2025. These fairs provided our community with direct access to employers, recruiters, and industry insights in the tech sector—an area where marginalized women are still significantly underrepresented. SWANS supported participants through preparation, orientation, and on-site networking, helping them navigate these spaces with confidence and visibility.

SWANS also hosted the online webinar “Diversity in the Workplace” with Woman Society, led by Deputy Managing Director Linda Termkolli. The session highlighted research showing that highly qualified women with immigrant backgrounds must submit up to twice as many applications as equally qualified women with German-sounding names, reinforcing SWANS’ call for a competence-based and more inclusive labor market.

In addition to fair participation, SWANS hosted a high-impact career workshop for female lawyers on 12 October 2025, in collaboration with Skadden, as an in-person event in Frankfurt am Main. This workshop offered targeted insights into legal career paths, application strategies, and workplace culture within international law firms. Participants particularly valued the opportunity for direct exchange with professionals and role models who understand both the opportunities and structural challenges within the legal field.

Across all activities, SWANS continued to pursue its core mission: breaking down structural barriers, fostering empowerment, and creating access to professional networks that are often difficult to reach for marginalized women. By combining community-centered workshops with strategic engagement at large-scale career events, SWANS strengthens long-term participation in the labor market and contributes to greater equity in leadership and professional representation.

Further events, partnerships, and sector-specific workshops are planned to sustain this momentum and deepen SWANS’ impact throughout the coming year.

In 2025, the SWANS Initiative once again delivered a comprehensive and targeted program of events for academic women with immigrant backgrounds, Women of Color, and Black women. So far, twelve digital, hybrid, and in-person events have addressed key topics such as career development, mental health, entrepreneurship, neurodivergence, climate change, and access to leadership roles. Particularly popular were events like the CV check with McKinsey, the ADHD webinar, and the ITCS career fair. These events not only provide knowledge and orientation but also create visibility, networking opportunities, and concrete career prospects—resources that are often less accessible to our target group. This work is essential as it breaks down structural barriers, enables empowerment, and gives marginalized voices a platform. More high-quality events are planned for the remainder of the year, including career workshops, trade fair appearances, and corporate partnerships. Through this work, SWANS is making a lasting impact on equal opportunity and participation in both the education system and the labor market.

Links:

• SWANS Website