Professionalisation Trends and Inequality: experiences and practices in aid relationships

Silke Roth

Third World Quarterly, 2012, vol. 33, issue 8, 1459-1474

Abstract: This article explores the role that skills and knowledge play in the relationships between national and international volunteers and staff. Based on biographical interviews with people working for a wide range of aid organisations, the experiences and strategies of individuals and organisations dealing with inequality and diversity are explored. In particular, the paper addresses the question of whether professionalisation processes that can currently be observed in the field of humanitarian aid might contribute to minimising or perpetuating the gap between national and international aid personnel. Professionalisation processes can have positive effects not only for aid recipients, who obtain better services, and for the careers of aid personnel, but also for donors and hiring aid organisations, which benefit from a skilled workforce. However, we need to critically reflect on what kind of knowledge is validated, where it can be obtained and whether credentials guarantee hiring and promotion of qualified staff from all regions.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1080/09700161.2012.698129

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