Leading German evangelical social welfare association loses discrimination case

A German court ruling decided that the Diakonisches Werk, a leading evangelical social welfare organisation in Germany, cannot refuse job applicants on the basis of a non existing church membership if their religion is not a crucial content of their daily work. The court confirmed the verdict in favour of a Turkish German woman who was refused the post of an integration pilot because of her religion. Integration pilots are supposed to improve the dialogue between cultures; for that reason religion cannot be a criterion in the selection process, ruled the court. Furthermore the project “integration pilots” was funded by another organisation – an important fact for the judges to consider the post of an integration pilot suitable for any person regardless of their religion. Yesim Fadia, the refused integration pilot, considered the actions of the Diakonisches Werk as hypocritical as they pretend to foster the dialogue between cultures but do not allow ethnic minorities to be a part of the process. She will receive a compensation payment of three monthly salaries from the social organisation.