【EP5】Careers in International Development & Humanitarianism - A Female Perspective with Shani Cain
Updated: Jul 2, 2021

Time Stamps:
[0:24] Shani’s self-introduction
[1:05] Q1: What's your stand on Diversity issues in the International Development sector?
have you ever been personally affected?
[4:38] Q2: As a woman, how was your experience like doing field work?
in terms of safety, accommodation, access to opportunity...
[09:40] Q3: What's your observation on field work opportunities for Western expats compared to nationals in the global south?
[12:25] Q4: From an intersectionality angle, how do you think the experience of youth differs around the world in the ID sector?
[16:35] Q5: Have you experienced any difficulties in your career related to your age or gender as a senior executive?
[21:44] Q6: What advice would you give young women who are just starting out in the ID sector especially in the COVID era?
[25:38] Q7: what area in aid and development do you think has the most room for improvement to ensure a more equitable and diverse outcome?
[28:40] Q8: Any final thoughts to share with the RE: Project community?
The RE: Project has partnered with the WIAN | The Women in International Affairs Network to create an #interview series about the career experience of remarkable women from the international development and humanitarian sector. They will be sharing their experience about the obstacles they faced, how they overcame them, and advice for other women embarking on a similar path.
Our #fifth episode features Shani Cain, CEO of the Oaktree Foundation, as she shares her experience with #diversity and #inclusion in the International Development Sector, her challenges as a female in the ID sector, and her key tips for females striving to make a career in the ID field!
Shani is the CEO of the Oaktree Foundation, which is Australia's largest youth-led international development agency with over 250,000 supporters. Previously working in settlement, community development and advocacy at the Centre for Multicultural Youth, Shani not only is a CEO, but she is also a Board Member for Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and Executive Member for the Campaign For Australian Aid. She is is an active believer in the ability to change the world and is passionate about youth, gender and climate.
Thank you, Shani for sharing these insights! If you have any questions for Shani feel free to leave a comment!
More speaks coming up soon!
Through this podcast series, we want to highlight the experiences of women from a variety of ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and how their careers could be better supported.
Women working in HR, diversity and inclusion roles or international programs who wish to be involved will be interviewed about gender and race-related issues. They'll also be asked about the obstacles they faced, how they overcame them and advice for women embarking on their careers.
*Women who wish to participate but are uncomfortable discussing these issues and topics on video can be included via a podcast, blog and/or anonymous involvement. Additionally, individuals do not have to answer questions they are uncomfortable with.
If you are interested in sharing your experience as a guest speaker email us at : thereproject.manager@gmail.com
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Our mission is to re-think, re-skill, and re-imagine the future of work for those in social science-related fields, with a focus on International Affairs and Development. We believe that technological changes have radically altered the way we work by disrupting skills requirements, creating challenges for young social scientists who largely rely on soft skills. Therefore, those pursuing generalist or qualitative disciplines will have to re-skill in an oversaturated job market favoring STEM and tech.
However, most universities’ career services do not yet offer such robust training for students. At RE: Project, we seek to help millennials and Gen Zs not only find a job, but build dynamic, “future proof” careers. We offer an active platform that demystifies career possibilities, helps build professional networks, and supports re-skilling for a changing job market.
At our core, we seek to reduce growing unemployment among young social scientists in an increasingly technologised job market. Our cutting-edge content allows our community members to stay current and learn from experts at the forefront of their industry.
In the short-run, we offer tailored career support by creating curated real-life, authentic content generated by real people of the millennial generation working the industries. Practitioners with 4–7 years of experience can offer as many insights (or more!) as 50-year-old CEOs and Directors about how to break into the industry.
This way, young job seekers can interact with mentors using social media live (visit our Linkedin page, Instagram coming soon), and blog posts.
User-generated blog posts, interviews, and tips will also be very welcome.
In the long run, the ultimate goal of this platform is to grow into the forefront community for the Future of Work for social scientists.