An I-Kiribati child holds her toothbrush during a Pacific Partnership dental outreach program run by Australia, New Zealand and the United States held at the Dai Nippon Primary School in Betio, Tarawa (Jonathan R. Kulp/US Navy)

Caring for carers: The gender challenge in peacebuilding

A new report shows women with children, in particular, often find it difficult to remain within or return to this type of work.

Eleanor Gordon

29 October 20244 min read

Consider these words, and think what they mean for the people who work in some of the world’s most challenging conflict or disaster zones.

“Fewer people with caring responsibilities exacerbates the unspoken expectations of self sacrifice and long hours. There is less balance. [But] having a carer’s perspective also adds compassion and empathy to the plight of others.”

This was an observation from a respondent to a global survey, looking at the challenges for supporting people working towards peace with their own caring responsibilities. It was a common refrain in discussions with 146 peacebuilders across 81 countries – that the price of caring for others can come at a cost to those closest to the carers.

The report, “Who Cares in Peacebuilding? Building Sustainable Peace and Advancing Gender Equality through Support for Peacebuilders with Caring Responsibilities”, was published this week and supported by a range of universities and other research organisations across Australia and internationally. It amounts to a call to action to improve support for peacebuilding practitioners with caring responsibilities.

There are significant barriers to the recruitment, retention and advancement of people with caring responsibilities in the sector. Women with children, in particular, often find it difficult to remain within or return to this type of work, have equal access to training and promotion opportunities, and feel valued by management and colleagues. The report found that 78% had to leave or change their work in the peacebuilding sector, while almost all (89%) said their career progression had been affected. It had consequences for training, networking or deployment opportunities. And perhaps most tellingly, 61% said it is difficult for people with caring responsibilities to work in the sector.

These difficulties are most likely to be faced by women because of the gendered nature of unpaid care work, maternal bias, and gendered assumptions about peacebuilders and peacebuilding. While women are most likely to face these difficulties, men and people of diverse gender identities also suffer due to their caring responsibilities not being recognised or supported.

A lack of support for personnel with caring responsibilities also communicates the message that care – including care for others and self-care – is not important.

Such difficulties also have consequences for the work of peacebuilding organisations, particularly when people with caring responsibilities leave the sector. It is a key driver of women’s underrepresentation in the sector, harms workplaces cultures and staff wellbeing, and limits organisational diversity. It also hinders efforts to advance gender equality in peacebuilding, not least because male-dominated organisations are less likely to effectively advocate for gender equality in post-conflict environments – doing so can also harm organisational credibility.

While diversity is often positively correlated with organisational effectiveness, in peacebuilding it is especially important. The departure and broader marginalisation of personnel with caring responsibility means that peacebuilding organisations are less able to draw from a diversity of skills, knowledge and networks, to reach and respond to diverse communities, generate broad-based public trust and confidence, and identify innovative solutions to address the complexity of threats to peace and security. As another survey respondent put it, “It limits the important perspectives of women and carers in decisions and priorities, silencing a huge part of the workforce with much experience to share.”

The adverse impact on workplace cultures and staff well-being arises in part because it maintains a work environment that is not conductive to carers, including needing to be flexible and work excessive hours. A lack of support for personnel with caring responsibilities also communicates the message that care – including care for others and self-care – is not important. This also has consequences for the type of peace being built. “To be able to care for others, you need to be well and care for yourself first,” was a common type of reflection among respondents.

There is a prevailing assumption that caring responsibilities are a private matter and leaving the sector a personal choice. But many peacebuilders revealed that they reluctantly left the sector because of inadequate organisational support, bias around caring responsibilities (particularly maternal bias), as well as harmful workplace cultures. There is also a prevailing belief that the type of organisational support required is costly and time consuming. However, there are little cost and time implications for effective measures such as messaging around the importance of care (including care for others and self-care), mentoring programs and peer-to-peer support networks.

What the survey respondents would like to see is the chance for flexible work practices, including remote work and flexible hours, part-time and job-share opportunities, as well as infrastructure to support carers, such as safe spaces for nursing parents. Supportive human resources policies are also high on the list, such as paid parental leave, support structures for returning carers, and prioritising applications from carers for UN-classified family duty stations.

The report highlights that improved support for peacebuilders can help improve the meaningful representation of women in the sector, advance gender equality and improve the effectiveness and outcomes of peacebuilding. As another respondent put it:

“If people feel they are valued by the organisation as individuals and if the structures are in place to support people, individuals will have better outcomes in and out of the office.”

About the author

Eleanor Gordon

Eleanor Gordon is the Director of the Global Peace and Security Research Centre at Monash University (Monash GPS).

Topics

Aid & development Gender & equality