By Tara Arthur and Léa Moutard (GISF, May 2022)

Toward Inclusive Security: The impact of ‘race’, ethnicity and nationality on aid workers’ security

Article length: 21 pages

(Sub)topics: 'race'; ethnicity; nationality; racism; safety; (inclusive) security risk management

This article explores: 1) the relation between 'race'*, ethnicity, nationality and security; 2) the impact of racism on the security of aid workers and organisations; and 3) NGOs' practices regarding 'race', ethnicity, nationality and security. For this, the authors conducted a literature review and 20 interviews with a range of humanitarian actors (security advisers at the global and regional levels, anti-racism consultants, policy advisers, programme staff, and other aid workers).

The authors explain how 'race', ethnicity, and nationality 'impact the security risks aid workers face and the way their security is managed' (p. 5). National staff are more exposed to risks related to travelling and interacting with various stakeholders, as well as to sanctions or violence from authorities with generally less protection in case of incidents. Additionally, national staff of colour are exposed to racist incidents outside and within the organisation; different security rules often apply to national and international staff; and the pressure, stress, and trauma that national staff experience are often underestimated.

Regarding the international staff of colour, a prevalent assumption is that they will better 'fit in' and thus face fewer risks in countries of operations, which can actually put them at risk. Additionally, the international staff of colour reported feeling unprepared to manage the racist prejudices and violence they faced in the places they were deployed in.

The authors explain how interpersonal racism within organisations affects the psychological and physical state of aid workers and leads to security concerns of aid workers of colour being dismissed. Furthermore, there is racial bias against security managers of colour, which undermines their authority and puts staff at risk. The authors also discuss racial violence against aid workers of colour from outside the organisation and how racism can prevent effective security coordination between NGOs and other stakeholders. With respect to racism towards external stakeholders, it can lead to racist incidents against communities and stakeholders, including sexual violence, as well as to misunderstanding local (security) contexts.

The authors advocate for a person-centred approach towards the security of aid workers of colour. This includes having a diverse team, involving diverse staff, and running collective risk assessments. More resources are also needed, including time, funding, staff, and knowledge.

* The authors write the term 'race' in quotation marks in order to emphasise its artificial nature and because this term is controversial in some languages.

By Pamela Combinido, Pip Henty, Sara Phillips, and Kate Sutton (HAG, October 2021)

Leading for Impact: The measurable effect of diverse and inclusive humanitarian leadership teams

Article length: 26 pages

(Sub)topics: diversity; inclusion; humanitarian organisations; innovation; prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (PSEAH)

This study explores whether organisations with more diverse and inclusive leadership teams performed more strongly on 1) innovation culture and 2) prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (PSEAH). The authors partnered with 13 humanitarian organisations and undertook 141 key informant interviews, surveyed 711 respondents, and reviewed 136 documents.

Regarding the innovation culture, there was a positive correlation between inclusive leadership and innovation. The authors note that 'when staff felt that they belong, that they are seen, heard and valued through the inclusive practices of leaders and have the support of leadership, they are more likely to be comfortable stepping outside of business as usual and embracing new ideas' (p. 16).

With respect to PSEAH, the research found no correlation between diverse and inclusive humanitarian leadership and stronger risk management of PSEAH. According to the authors, the reasons for this could be the fact that the affected communities could not be consulted due to Covid-19; the relatively high level of institutionalisation of PSEAH work (especially in comparison with innovation), which possibly limits the scope of action for leadership teams; organisations understanding PSEAH (only) in the context of compliance with regulations, which are often top-down and prescriptive; as well as PSEAH practice possibly being influenced by leadership at more senior levels than targeted in this study, or in specialised areas like human resources.

By Lena Bheeroo, Pontso Mafethe, and Leila Billing (Bond, June 2021)

Racism, Power and Truth: Experiences of people of colour in development

Article length: 56 pages

(Sub)topics: racism in international development; mentoring; white gaze; credentialism; microaggressions; micromanagement; tokenism; anti-blackness

This report explores the experiences of people of colour working in international development in relation to 1) securing roles in the sector (getting in); 2) their workplace experiences (getting on); and 3) career progression (getting up). This report is based on 150 organisations’ responses regarding their approaches and work on diversity and inclusion; a survey completed by 150 people of colour working for UK development organisations of varying sizes, think tanks, research institutes, consultancy firms, and donor agencies; and 30 in-depth interviews with people of colour working for UK development institutions based in and outside of the UK.

Regarding getting in, 48% of the survey respondents said they had faced discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, or nationality during recruitment processes, with black women living outside the UK reporting especially high levels of discrimination. Overall, the most commonly cited form of discrimination was the inability to get an interview despite meeting all the criteria, and some respondents reported having to change their name. 'White gaze' is pervasive across hiring practices, determining what counts as ‘expertise’ or ‘knowledge’, and devaluing candidates’ experiences of living and working in the contexts where development programming takes place. Credentialism, nepotism, and cronyism were also often cited as barriers to entering the sector.

As for getting on, 68% of survey respondents had experienced an incident of workplace racism in the past year, or had supported a colleague dealing with such an incident. The most common reported form of racism was that perpetrated by line managers; and organisations are still not fully equipped or effective in dealing with incidents of racism. Instead, organisational norms demand that people of colour show ‘gratitude’ to have a job in the sector. The respondents of this research also reported the prevalence of microaggressions and having to constantly ‘code-switch’, i.e., adjust their style of speech and vocabulary in order to fit in. Especially women of colour reported widespread micromanagement from their line managers and the lack of equal access to mentors. Also, the respondents discussed hostility towards collective action of people of colour within their organisations, and the space for antiracism work getting pitted against work on gender or women’s rights.

Additionally, survey respondents reported structural racism regarding staff in low- and middle-income countries, including differential treatment, dual salary structures, and barriers to promotion. Openly racist attitudes that pass unchallenged were also prevalent towards implementing partners in the countries where programmes take place.

With respect to getting up, not being considered for a promotion by senior staff, lack of support or sponsorship from senior staff, and work experience not being considered relevant or sufficient are some of the main reasons survey respondents gave for their inability to get a promotion. Racism intersecting with gender power relations prevent women of colour from having access to leadership opportunities; and anti-Blackness and 'cultures of credentialism', including whether you attended the ‘right’ Western universities, are prevalent. It is important to note that opportunities at the career start don’t necessarily translate into leadership diversity. Furthermore, people of colour who are in leadership positions reported resistance to their authority and ‘whitesplaining’ from more junior staff. Some leaders of colour spoke about being tokenised and gave examples of epistemic violence curtailing their ability to do their work and lead authentically.

By Duncan Green, Senior Strategic Adviser at Oxfam GB (FP2P, 27/04/2021)

Why is internal advocacy within our own organisations so hard?

In this blog article, Duncan Green argues that internal advocacy seems to be harder than trying to influence others. Some of the top points he highlights: building and maintaining internal change coalitions is key; creating jobs around the particular change goal helps institutionalise the pressures for reform; reformers face (mostly) passive resistance from opponents (e.g. ignoring documents/ initiatives or trying to derail them with deluges of comments and requests for more information). Additionally, under-the-radar mobilisation of outside networks as well as seizing the windows of opportunity offered by new leaders in search of an agenda / open to ideas can be useful tactics.

Interview with Kevin Nadal, Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, by Andrew Limbong (npr, 09/06/2020)

Microaggressions are a big deal: How to talk them out and when to walk away

In this interview Kevin Nadal, Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, explains that microagressions are 'the everyday, subtle, intentional — and oftentimes unintentional — interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalised groups'. As they tend to happen during what he calls 'difficult dialogues', people with privileged identities should do their homework first, i.e. inform themselves about and understand the experiences of historically marginalised groups; this way 'other people of color or women or LGBTQ folks won't have to have those conversations for you'.

By Michelle MiJung Kim, writer, activist, and entrepreneur (Awaken Blog, 04/06/2020)

Urgently looking for anti-racism training for your company? Start here.

In this blog post, Michelle MiJung Kim discusses five sets of questions to ask before organising an anti-racism training within your organisation: 1) Why now? What will anchor you to keep going when the 'moment' is over? 2) What do you want to accomplish? A processing space (dialogue heavy), a learning space (information heavy), or a practice space (interaction heavy)? 3) Whose needs are you centring? To prioritise the needs of the most marginalised people, you might have to pay less attention to the discomfort of white people in this process. 4) Who are you learning from? Whose voices are you centring? Whom and how much are you paying? 5) What happens after? Figure this out before the workshop.

By Tindyebwa Agaba and Anonymous, humanitarian workers (Open Democracy, 07/12/2018)

We need to talk about racism in the aid sector

In this blog post, two humanitarian workers discuss the pervasiveness of racism in the aid sector: casual contracts offered to aid workers from the Global South, with limited access to safe and secure working conditions; no genuine inclusive participation of national staff; bullying and patronising, dismissive and supercilious attitudes towards national staff and people receiving aid; implicit bias in recruitment and evaluation and 'beer connections'; ignored and dismissed complaints about injustices.

By Information and Documentation Centre for Anti-Racism Work e.V. (IDA)

List of trainers (in German)

Here you can search for trainers who offer seminars, workshops, consulting, and support in the fields of (anti-)racism, right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, diversity, anti-discrimination, and migration.

Initiated by Centre for Humanitarian Action (CHA)

Anti-Racism Forum for staff from German aid organisations

In 2021, CHA initiated the Anti-Racism Forum (ARA) for staff from German aid organisations. As a flexible cross-organisational exchange and learning platform, it is intended to provide a safe space in which forum members can share issues related to anti-racism, exchange experiences and knowledge, and discuss new ideas and approaches without much bureaucracy.

By Norwegian Students' and Academics' Assistance Fund (07/11/2019)

Africa Corp. Radi-Aid 2.0

One of the satire classics to close with: the last video by Radi-Aid, a former awareness campaign with the goal of challenging the perceptions around issues of poverty and development, changing the way fundraising campaigns communicate, and breaking down dominating stereotypical representations.