STARK & FREI - STRONG & FREE

What I hear again and again in the everyday realities of immigrant women, - as well as my own experience - that is a subject of conversation is that their most urgent concerns are financial instability and insecurity. Psychological safety is important, but for many it only becomes a priority once the financial basics are more or less in place. Or even differently said, if the financial security could be established, that would reduce some of the psychological problems. A lot of recent research shows a clear link between financial insecurity and psychological problems like anxiety, depression, loneliness and general distress.

Many Black women who find work here do so because they have a white advocate in their corner – for example, a white husband who can serve as a reference. At Diaspora Support Circle, we recognize that this unequal access to advocacy is a structural problem, not an individual failing. That is why some Swiss women in the network do not just offer advice from a distance, but also step in as concrete, active references for Black women in recruitment processes and professional contexts. They also intentionally open up and use their own (mostly white and Swiss) professional networks so that these connections benefit Black women, turning social privilege into a practical advantage in job searches and career development.