ABSTRACT
The nexus between migration and development has received increasing scholarly attention in recent years. Among those inequalities affected by, and driving, mobilities, those related to gender play a prominent role. This chapter considers interconnections between development, mobility, and gendered (in)equalities from an innovative perspective. The relevance of migration for development is now being appreciated and better understood (UNDP Human Development Report 2009). In line with much of development studies, however, existing research efforts are focused on the role of those receiving aid or remittances within the migration-development context. I suggest that this emphasis on the beneficiaries presents a limited perspective, which leaves out of view those who work on development programmes and implement aid. Instead, I aim to adopt an approach that includes aid workers, as well as aid recipients, as relevant actors. This approach draws on Long's (2001) actor-oriented theory of development, which argues that we need to understand the different actors' lifeworlds, organising practices and livelihood strategies in order to understand the “power domains and social relations” which shape development practice (Long 2003: 47–48). Consequently, if we assume that inequalities matter for all actors in the development process and for the outcomes of their work, more attention needs to be paid to the issue of how (in)equalities feature among, and affect, professional aid workers.
