In 2015, Germany opened its borders to hundreds of thousands — many fleeing Syria and Afghanistan. But many women who arrived in the last 10 years do not work. What hurdles do they face, and how are they being tackled?

Berlin

Women refugees and immigrants in Germany frequently encounter discrimination and barriers when seeking employment, such as bias based on their names or backgrounds. Surea Inal, who arrived in Berlin as a teenager, struggled to find opportunities despite good grades, eventually succeeding after receiving support from a mentor and starting her own business. Experts note that these success stories are rare, as many employers remain hesitant to hire people with foreign-sounding names, often perceiving language or cultural barriers.

Organizations and individuals are working to change this, providing job training and support to those with immigrant backgrounds. The importance of external support, especially for families unfamiliar with the German education and vocational systems, is highlighted as key to success. Companies like McKinsey are increasingly valuing diversity, recognizing that varied perspectives contribute to better outcomes, but equal opportunities for people with immigrant backgrounds remain limited in the broader job market.

Helping women refugees in Germany find work

He's got the jobs like cleaning the toilets, sweeping, and so on. He asked to have a different member of staff, saying he couldn't pronounce my last name. The number of times I get invited to view a new apartment is less than my partner, who has a recognizably German last name. Stories like this are commonplace in Germany among people with an immigrant background, like Surea Inal, shown here with her two sisters. Today she runs her own tax accountancy with 20 employees. She decided to start her own business after feeling she was never really accepted at other companies. It's not nice when you get the sense that people are talking about you, gossiping. When the only questions you ever get revolve around where are you from, what's your hometown. You get the message you don't belong. When all you hear is where do you come from, what's it like where you come from. It makes you feel like an outsider. Surea Inal was 15 when she arrived in Berlin in 1980. This working class area was her new home. Her mother worked in a cafeteria kitchen. Her father was an auto mechanic. She was put in a vocational high school because she spoke little German. She was a fast learner and got good grades. But despite a raft of applications, she couldn't find an apprenticeship. I was treated like I was a bad student or incapable. I had no prospects at all and eventually started to lose hope. Finally she got a break. At an interview in a department store, a personnel manager spotted her potential. She encouraged me to do a specialized high school degree that qualified me to go to university. So I got my college degree. That made me what I am now. This kind of lucky break is the exception rather than the rule, says the head of the VMW Association of Migrant Businesses. Mihat Sorgec was a Turkish working class kid himself. Now he runs his own institute where young people with immigrant backgrounds can get job training. But he knows how many employers are still hesitant. Many of them might not be aware of their hesitation. They see a foreign-looking name and they think there might be language barriers. Or there might be differences in mentality and they won't fit in. They see the hurdles more than the benefits. Those companies are missing out on a lot of potential. One in four people in Germany now has an immigrant background. Sorgec would also like to see some changes in the educational system. Children from immigrant families often need more support than their parents can provide. In many families with an immigrant background, the parents aren't as familiar with the school system, the vocational training system and the way the economy works here in Germany. So they have a hard time providing that support to their children. Those families do need outside support for that. Thu Anh Vu shows how well that can work. At 28, she's now a consultant with McKinsey. She was born in Germany. Her parents came from Vietnam. Her father works in a slaughterhouse and her mother is a cleaner. Thu Anh Vu didn't start learning German until she went to preschool. In school, one of her teachers gave her support and encouragement. That was a huge support and the first milestone on the path to where I am today. Her background hasn't been an obstacle, she says, quite the opposite. McKinsey wants diversity, in part because diverse teams are often more successful than homogenous ones. The more diverse a team is with regard to culture, gender or religion, the more successful its projects are. Because everyone brings another perspective to the table, a different approach to the way we work, how we collaborate with the client. So we get to where we're going a lot faster. McKinsey is not the only company looking for more workforce diversity. It's a welcome change, but Germany still has a long way to go until people with immigrant backgrounds enjoy a level playing field on the job market.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has firmly rejected Russia’s proposal requiring land concessions to end the war. Ukrainian and European officials have submitted a counterproposal to Washington.

Kyiv

Middle East Conflict

Ukraine, Europe counter Russian ceasefire proposal ahead of US talks

There have been more protests, and counter protests, in several British towns and cities, outside of hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers. Some far-right protesters called for one of the hotels to stop housing migrants.

Bournemouth

UK: Anti-immigration & anti-racism protesters face off

A man who opened fire on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, firing into the complex from a pharmacy and killing a police officer, blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, according to reports.

Atlanta

Vaccine conspiracy could be behind Atlanta shooting

The Gifford Fire burning through the rugged backcountry of California's Central Coast is now the state's largest wildfire of the year. It has reached so-called "mega-fire" status and is one of 38 large fires burning across nine states.

San Luis Obispo

Largest California wildfire of 2025 reaches "mega fire" status

President Trump is preparing to take another swing at a deal with President Putin during a high-stakes summit next Friday in Anchorage, Alaska. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country will never give up land, even if it means an end to the war.

Anchorage

Ukraine Invasion

Trump: Ukraine must cede land for ceasefire; Zelenskyy refuses

The United Nations Security Council is set to hold a rare Sunday meeting to discuss Israel's plan to intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking control of Gaza City. CBS News' Debora Patta reports on the conflict and the mounting humanitarian crisis.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza comes under fire

At least 200 protesters have been arrested at a rally showing solidarity for Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Parliament in London. Crowds are also demonstrating against a ban on the Palestine Action group, after it was designated as a terrorist organisation.

London

London:  Hundreds arrested during Palestine action protest

After almost four decades of a bloody conflict that until recently had no end in sight, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a peace agreement in the presence of the US President Donald Trump. Notably absent in this historic moment is Russia, which no longer plays a central role in the South Caucasus.

Washington

Azerbaijan and Armenia sign historic agreement

Montana's governor said that the dayslong manhunt for the suspect in a bar shooting has ended. 45-year-old Michael Brown was taken into custody on Friday.

Anaconda

Montana bar shooting suspect captured after weeklong manhunt

President Trump announced Friday that he will hold a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15 in Alaska. The summit comes as Russia has been pushing to keep all the Ukrainian territory it gained from its invasion. Nancy Cordes and Margaret Brennan have the latest.

Trump, Putin to hold meeting in Alaska next week

The U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas in its investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James. CBS News' Jake Rosen reports.

New York

Trump's DOJ subpoenas New York AG Letitia James

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, the Kremlin said on Thursday (August 7), as the U.S. president seeks a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war after voicing mounting frustration with his Russian counterpart and threatening him with new sanctions.

Moscow

Kremlin says Trump, Putin to meet soon; Ukraine seeks role for Europe

U.S. President Donald Trump's rushed deadline for Russia to strike a ceasefire deal or face more sanctions has arrived without much movement from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump deadline for Russia to reach ceasefire arrives

Protesters in Israel are voicing their concerns about a plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet to take over Gaza City. CBS News' Debora Patta has more.

Jerusalem

Israel's security cabinet approves plan to take over Gaza City

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel intends to take full military control of Gaza and push a new offensive, despite mounting international criticism over the war’s human toll and growing hunger crisis.

Israel intends to take full control of Gaza, Netanyahu says

U.S. President Donald Trump said that there is a good chance he'll meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin soon over Russia's war with Ukraine.

Trump says 'good chance' he'll meet with Putin soon

U.S. President Donal Trump officially began levying higher import taxes on dozens of countries on Thursday (August 7), just as the economic fallout of his months-long tariff threats was beginning to create visible damage to the U.S. economy.

Global Tariffs

Higher U.S. tariffs officially take effect

The man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., earlier this year has been charged with federal hate crime charges. CBS News Justice reporter Jake Rosen has more.

Hate crime charges filed in killings of Israeli Embassy staffers

As Sean "Diddy" Combs awaits his sentencing, his lead attorney Marc Agnifilo says he has not talked to anyone at the White House about a possible pardon.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' attorney says he hasn't had talks about a pardon

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, blamed Hamas when asked about starvation in Gaza, saying, "Hamas has not allowed the food to get to the people who are hungry." Huckabee also addressed questions over the controversial aid sites.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel faces questions over starvation in Gaza

On "T-Day," the US began enforcing Trump's new tariffs, raising average rates from 2% to 15% after a 90-day pause allowed some countries to negotiate reduced deals while others, like India and Brazil, faced hikes. These tariffs have generated over $150 billion in revenue by July, impacting various sectors and aiming to address trade imbalances.

U.S. begins collecting Trump's new global tariffs

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he plans to call the leaders of China and India, to discuss a joint response to new US tariffs. The announcement came as Brazil and India were hit with 50 percent levies - the highest imposed by President Donald Trump.

State of Rio de Janeiro

Brazil halts U.S. trade talks as Lula condemns new tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations after trade talks reached a deadlock.

Trump imposes extra 25% tariff on India over Russian oil imports

President Trump has been briefed about the shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia, the White House press secretary says. At least five soldiers were shot before a suspect was apprehended, officials say.

Fort Stewart

Five soldiers shot at Fort Stewart in Georgia; suspect apprehended

A Russian official said President Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had a "useful and constructive" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.

Witkoff, Putin had 'useful and constructive conversation'

The U.S. aims to deploy nuclear power reactors on the Moon and Mars, targeting the first launch by decade’s end. A new NASA directive, revealed by Politico and AFP, calls for appointing a nuclear power czar to choose two commercial proposals within six months, aiming to outpace a Chinese-Russian collaboration.

NASA races to put nuclear reactors on Moon and Mars

Japan held a memorial service and ceremony for victims and the remaining survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, marking its 80th anniversary and renewing pledges of working towards a world without nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima marks 80th anniversary since U.S. atomic bombing

The U.S. is warning travelers as cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne illness, spreads in China. Health officials in China have ordered mass disinfection measures. The region near Hong Kong reported more than 7,000 cases in recent weeks.

Breakdown