Social Work

The alarm clock rings at 6 a.m. Banalata Sen lives with her husband and nine-year-old son in Bonn, the former German capital on the Rhine. Her day begins like that of many working parents: making breakfast, preparing school lunch, getting her child ready for the day. At 7:30 a.m., her son leaves the house, and shortly afterwards, Sen’s working day begins. She either works from home or at the Post Tower, DHL’s headquarters, which soars just a few streets away from Deutsche Welle, her husband’s workplace.

Sen is the global head of DHL’sGoTeachprogramme, which helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds around the world find their way from school to work. At the same time, she runs a small NGO in India that her parents founded. Career, family, social commitment: how does she manage dailylife between Zoom meetings, parents’evenings and NGO video conferences?

Working in both Germany and India

In her position, she works with teams from 70 countries. Her working day begins in meetings with colleagues in Asia and end with calls from America. At the Bonn office, Sen uses her time there to network, exchange ideas with colleagues and engage in strategic planning. Two to three days a week she works from home, when she can concentrate on reading, writing and conceptualising. “I really appreciate the flexibility of hybrid working,” she says. “Especially as a mother.”

When evening comes and her son is asleep, Sen often begins the second stage of her day: her work for an NGO in West Bengal that her parents founded 20 years ago. There, children from poor backgrounds are given access to education and mothers receive support to achieve financial independence. “My father built all this up,” she says. After his death, she and her brother took over responsibility from Germany, with regular trips to India.

Networking for a job in Germany

Her journey to Germany didn’t begin with DHL, but with a language course at the Goethe-Institut in Kolkata. She met a young teacher in that classroom; today he is her husband. “We had no contact for a long time. It was only through social media that we found each other again,” she says. The two married in 2014 and Sen moved to Germany.

At that time, she was still working for a US company. But without personal contact with colleagues, she soon felt lonely. She applied for other jobs in Germany, but getting started was not easy. “I received many rejections. It was frustrating.” It was only with the help of a mentor she had met through her career network at the time that she found success: with his help, Sen revised her LinkedIn profile and honed her CV. After a short time, she received a call from a head-hunter who offered her the job at DHL. “A perfect match,” as she says.

Enjoying the quiet and safety

What does she appreciate about Germany? “The safety,” says Sen. In India, it is not common for women to go out alone in the evening. “Here, I can go for a walk whenever I want without anything happening. That gives me a feeling of freedom.”

The pace of life is also different. “In Kolkata, there’s always something going on, everything is loud and lively.” In Bonn, on the other hand, most shops close at 8 p.m. “You have to get used to it – but eventually you learn to enjoy the peace and quiet.”

Protection from discrimination

Anyone coming to Germany from India should not only be well prepared, but also alert to things that aren’t always visible at first glance. “Germany has strong laws against discrimination in working life, on the housing market, in public,” says Sen. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t encounter prejudice, sometimes subtle, sometimes noticeable.”

She herself has learned not to hide. “It’s important to know your rights. And to have the courage to speak up.” Whether through official channels in the human resources department, internal confidants or communities with similar experiences, there are many ways to get support. “You don’t have to go through it alone.”

At the same time, she emphasises that openness begins on both sides: “Newcomers must be willing to engage – but teams and supervisors should also understand what it means to come from a different culture.”

Learning from one another and growing together

Amidst video conferences, nursery appointments, NGO meetings and strategy papers, Sen holds fast to a guiding principle that has accompanied her since childhood: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam– the world is one family. “This philosophy is deeply rooted in Indian culture. And I rediscovered it for myself in Germany,” she says. “We are different, but our dreams, our hopes and our concerns are often more similar than we think. We can learn a lot from each other.”

Translated from German by Faith Ann Gibson