Here is a skip time for you :)
[1:00] Chris’ introduction
[2:07] Q1. Working in the sector for over 2 decades, what is your personal stance on the diversity issue within international development? Have you been personally affected?
[5:06] Q2. What are some obstacles you have faced in the field? How did these obstacles relate to your identifying as a woman? How are they related to your ethnicity? How are they related to your racial background? How are they related to your socioeconomic background?
[9:23] Q3. Social inclusion has always been a critical area in international development, particularly the realm of gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, recent events indicate the importance of intersectionality and in particular racial and ethnic equality. Do you think the ID sector hasn’t entirely accepted intersectionality as an issue?
[12:31] Q4. What advice would you give women just starting their careers in the aid and development sectors? Particularly in the covid-19 era, are there any particular strategies you think entry level women should be aware of?
[18:32] Q5. In your opinion, what areas in aid/development have the most room for improvement to ensure more equitable outcomes for women pursuing careers in these sectors? Relatedly, can you think of any short term goals that can be achieved to make these sectors more inclusive?
[23:30] Q6. Considering the criticisms aimed at the aid sector for its lack of inclusivity and the need for it to decolonise, what do you think will need to be done for the sector to positively change – whether it be more inclusive employment policies particularly aimed at those in the global south, a change in funding structures, etc.?
The RE: Project has partnered with the WIAN | The Women in International Affairs Network to create a podcast 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 first podcast features Chris Franks the Chair of Women in Aid and Development.
Chris has worked in the aid and development sectors for over four decades. Chris is based in Sydney, Australia and she is currently Chair at Women in Aid & Development, a networking group that encourages and inspires women working in the aid, development and humanitarian sectors to secure leadership roles, and the sector to achieve gender equity. Chris also has experience working in Cufa, an International Development Working Group, Habitat for Humanity Australia, Family Planning NSW, among other humanitarian organizations.
In this podcast, Chris talked about diversity inclusion and intersectionality issues within the international development sector(with a special focus on the Australian ID sector) as well as advice she has for women just starting their careers in the aid and development sectors.
Thank you, Chirs for sharing these insights! If you have any questions for Chris 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
The RE:Project is a career advice, peer mentoring, and re-skilling community for millennial and Gen Z social scientists/practitioners.
For more interesting content on career building in international development/social science/humanity fields:
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Why should you join the RE:Project Community?
One main reason behind the high unemployment rate among recent grads is the gap between the structured academic training and the “messiness” of the real-world career market. This is especially true for International Development students, on average with 0–3 years of experience, that look for impact-driven work. However, the development sector requires significant work experience, specialization, and networking to break into — none of which academic training alone can adequately offer.
The RE:Project a career advice, peer mentoring, and re-skilling community for millennial and Gen Z social scientists, born with the idea that millennials and Gen-Zers can help one another out for today’s job market.
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.
You can also get involved with our work as a mentor, a community ambassador right on organizational capacity. Find out more here www.thereprojectcommunity.com/get-involved
If you got any good content ideas, any interesting people you’d like us to interview, or interested in joining the team as a content creator email us at