Shared experiences can connect very different life stories. My conversation with Danyal Bayaz and Cawa Younosi explored background, opportunity and belonging.
Archived Project Mindset post, originally published in 2022. Dates and roles reflect the original publication.
Danyal Bayaz and Cawa Younosi: Different Paths, Shared Experiences
It was an honour to speak with Baden-Württemberg Finance Minister Dr Danyal Bayaz and SAP Germany HR head Cawa Younosi. Coordinating both schedules was difficult, so I was particularly happy it finally worked in January 2022.
Danyal kindly invited us to his ministry, allowing us to record in the impressive palace in Stuttgart. The setting was beautiful, the guests outstanding and the conversation wonderful. The video is linked below.
Different paths and shared experiences
All three of us have migration backgrounds, but different stories. Cawa travelled to Germany alone as a young Afghan refugee. Building a new life without your parents in an unfamiliar country seems enormously difficult. His career as an HR leader at a DAX company deserves even greater respect.
Danyal, born in Heidelberg to a German mother and Turkish father, faced a newspaper headline announcing that Kretschmann was bringing in a German-Turkish finance minister. As he said, it almost sounded as though someone had been brought from Ankara to help out.
That was not the case, of course. Such implications unfortunately often accompany foreign-sounding names.
Danyal said something important: “In this country, what matters is not where you come from, but where you want to go.” I agree. That is the ideal, perhaps not so far away. Germany rewards achievement, at least usually. In theory, equal opportunity applies.
Equal opportunity and equity
In practice, it does not always work that way. I also agree with Cawa: “In reality, there is a huge gap between equal opportunity and equity.” People with migration backgrounds recognise those perceived differences at work or in housing.
Most importantly, we have the privilege of living in a society where we can openly discuss this. That is fundamental to democracy.
I hope you enjoy the podcast as much as I did.
Yours, Reza Mehman
More in the Project Mindset archive (German) and the Reza Mehman Podcast.
