ABSTRACT
For many staff from the Global South, extended family structures can be stronger, and childcare is often organically shared among wider family, allowing for parents to work. Even in the Global North some families have active grandparents who may take on part of the care in addition to day cares. The assumption that children are not compatible with humanitarian work has significant influence on both staff turnover and diversity in the sector. Staff, particularly those wanting to be mothers, often leave in their thirties when they are becoming or have already become experts, many having a decade or more of experience behind them. Diversity is particularly necessary when the work carried out affects a population that is itself diverse.6 And that is inherently true for aid work and its services. But if diversity is not appreciated and harnessed appropriately, it can be a hindrance rather than a richness.
