The Humanitarian Parent

ISBN-13: 9781032294391 / Miękka / 2023 / 240 str.

Merit Hietanen

Opis

Drawing on the author’s own experiences as an aid worker, as well as extensive original interviews and desk research, the book looks at the challenges faced by those who aspire to a family life, from dating and finding a partner who is happy to move, to being away from home and family, finding childcare, and settling children in new places.

Recenzje

The Humanitarian Parent is a watershed addition to the discourse about what it means to be human and purposeful in the humanitarian sector. Hietanen left no stone unturned. The Humanitarian Parent provides a provocative glimpse into what are at once the deeply personal and yet systemic contradictions, paradoxes and intersectionality of parenting in the humanitarian sector.

Lucy Ellis, Founder of AidMamas, the global community of mothers in the humanitarian and international development sector

 

The Humanitarian Parent is an important contribution for its critique of the organizational culture in the humanitarian sector through a feminist lens and neo-colonial lens. Through its honest and very relatable anecdotes, it is a moving and genuine conversation around the ‘perfect’ humanitarian vis a vis the needs of the affected community, and if appealing to traditional humanitarian archetypes weighs down efforts of fostering genuine progress in the sector.

Dr Jessica Hazelwood, Humanitarian Expert 

 

This book was so much needed! And it is urgent for all of us to read it. Merit describes the struggle of many of us, parents in the humanitarian field, with depth and empathy, with a broad perspective that, while it acknowledges privileges and advantages of many of us, it bring us together on the challenges we face when becoming parents.  

Virginia Perez, Chief of Program, UN. Mother of two 

 

If you work in the humanitarian or development sector, you need to read this book, irrespective of whether you have children or not. Merit Hietanen depicts compellingly the dire need for a more feminist, anti-colonial, and overall more humane working culture and offers insights into getting there.

Liisa Ketolainen, Specialist in gender equality and international relations

 

In The Humanitarian Parent, the author explores the realities faced by individuals working in the
aid sector, challenging the traditional narrative of a male-dominated field. Drawing on personal
experiences and research, the book sheds light on the complex dynamics of balancing
professional responsibilities with parenthood. It highlights the increasing presence of women
and mothers in the aid sector, while acknowledging the unique challenges they face. The book
also addresses the lack of support for working mothers and the impact of cultural norms on
women’s ability to balance work and family life. Overall, The Humanitarian Parent offers valuable
insights into the intersection of gender, parenthood, and humanitarian work, emphasizing the
importance of supporting gender equality and family-friendly policies in the workplace.

Mays Nawayseh, Humanitarian Specialist, Mother

Many of us, humanitarians, will recognise bits of our own life on the pages of the Merit’s book The Humanitarian Parent. It will be interesting for humanitarian parents and equally to those who have yet to discover how the humanitarian lifestyle impacts (or often replaces) every single other aspect of human existence. I particularly appreciate the deep dive into the diversity of struggles among the humanitarian workers: not all challenges and people are the same, but all are equally valid. 

Yuliya Chykol'ba, Humanitarian Mine Action Specialist and co-host of the Ukraine series in the Trumanitarian podcast

Spis treści

Introduction

PART I

The humanitarian workplace and what it does to parents

1 The work culture in a humanitarian workplace

2 Why is change necessary and how do we get there?

PART II

For the ones thinking about having children

3 Making a decision about having children

4 Childless not by choice and how to get out of it

PART III

Life of a parent in the aid sector

5 Mothers who work on national contracts

6 LGBTQIA+ parents

7 Single mothers

8 Trailing spouses or unemployed aid workers

9 Fathers

10 The humanitarian nannies: the dependency of aid parents on domestic staff

PART IV

A sector in change: where do we go next?

11 What have policies given us?

12 Making humanitarian contexts more compatible with parenthood

13 Parental leave: where are we and where should we go?

14 Office hours and flexible working arrangements: what needs to change?

Epilogue

O autorze

Merit Hietanen is a gender and protection expert with over ten years of experience in the humanitarian and development sectors, working for organisations such as UNRWA, UN Women, and the International Rescue Committee in Gaza, Jordan, cross-border Syria, Cameroon, and Myanmar. Most recently, she has been advising the Finnish Foreign Ministry on their co-chairpersonship of the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative. Merit has specialised in issues around women’s protection, gender equality, and gender-based violence and also has experience in humanitarian coordination, WASH programming and communications. Merit is passionate about humanitarian sector reform and finding local solutions to issues of gender equality, including in her home country, Finland, where she is the vice president of the Feminist Association Union.