From 1995 until 1999, Kalayci was a member of the borough council of
Schöneberg and the deputy leader of the SPD group in the council. In the
2001 state elections, Kalayci won the Tempelhof-Schöneberg 3 constituency with 39.6% of the vote. She was able to defend her constituency in all subsequent elections. Between 2006 and 2011, Kalayci was the deputy leader of the SPD group in the Berlin
Abgeordenetenhaus. In November 2011 Berlin's Governing Mayor, Klaus Wowereit appointed Kalayci State Minister for Labour, Integration and Women, a post she held until 2016. After Wowereit's resignation in 2014 and Michael Müller's election as Governing Mayor she succeeded him as Deputy Governing Mayor in December 2014. After the
2016 state elections, Kalayci became State Minister for Health, Care and Equality in December 2016, she was not reappointed as Deputy Governing Mayor, being succeeded by the Green Party politician
Ramona Pop. As one of the state’s representatives at the
Bundesrat from 2011 until 2021, Kalayci was a member of the Committee on Health. She was also a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group set up by the Bundesrat and the
Russian Federation Council. ==Other activities==