(1) What I love about my current job is...
...that as a Member of Parliament, you get to help many people directly through the right of petition. Education policy is made at “Landtag” (federal state parliament) level, and the challenges and need for action are correspondingly huge. If you want to shape things, you have to get involved! As spokesperson for education, religious policy and petitions, I’ve been able to do this.
(2) My current job suits me perfectly because...
...it’s allowed me to leverage my professional and life experiences extensively to help shape policy. In particular the skills I acquired in academia have proven a valuable asset in my political work. I ended up working full time in politics for 17 years, and am now able to take a lot of what I learned here with me into my voluntary socio-political work.
(3) I’ve long been passionate about...
...inclusion and educational equity, human rights and democracy education and integrity of creation.
(4) One of the highlights of my career so far has been...
...negotiating and reaching an agreement on the 2011 school reform in North Rhine-Westphalia, and that it’s been repeatedly possible to save people from deportation, thereby opening up new prospects for the future for them. In addition, as parliamentary director and a member of the coalition committee, I was responsible for helping form the minority Social Democratic Party (SPD)/Green Party government in North Rhine-Westphalia.
(5) When I look back on my career so far, I’d say that what has particularly shaped me has been...
...my roots as a traditional working-class child. I was the first member of my family to go to university – with the additional challenges of being a girl. This was not the educational path my family had envisaged me taking. If it hadn’t been for the intervention of my headmaster at primary school, it’s unlikely my father would ever have agreed to let me go to a grammar school. He couldn’t imagine the daughter of a plasterer and shop assistant fitting in at grammar school, or see why a girl would even need a grammar school education.
(6) I’d advise any young women wishing to pursue a career similar to mine to...
...remember the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Art. 3 (1) “All persons shall be equal before the law. (2) Men and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.”
The Basic Law has still not been fully implemented – neither in education or the world of work, nor in general areas of society, careers and pay. And it shouldn’t just be women who need to continue to fight for this.
(7) I believe that female role models are important in university and professional life today because...
...the requirement for equal rights set forth in the Constitution has still not been attained. Women not only represent 50% of society – they are also entitled to 50% of the power, and should therefore also be visible in all areas and positions in society, empower girls and other women and fight to ensure that structures do not hinder the Constitution’s decree.
(8) I associate my time at Paderborn University with...
...a lot of happy times working in research and teaching. I worked in a position of responsibility in a highly committed and innovative academic team in the field of consumer education, as well as in the Paderborn Centre for Educational Research and Teacher Training (PLAZ) in the field of practical school studies. I benefited from digitalisation and the flexibility to organise my own work, which helped me achieve a good work-life balance.
Otherwise, though, it was a case of temporary contract after temporary contract...
(9) For the next 50 years, I wish Paderborn University...
...to continue to be a strong institute for teacher training in North Rhine-Westphalia and to drive forward the development of an inclusive education system and favourable conditions for more equal opportunities. I also want Paderborn University to be renowned for science, research and teaching, as these provide the basis for the necessary socio-ecological transformation and necessary social processes in times of climate crisis.
