The head of leading rights group Women Deliver has apologised and pledged an independent investigation after current and former staff said she ruled over a “toxic” culture of racism.
Experts said the problems at New York-based Women Deliver were endemic in the NGO world, with widespread complaints of racial inequality in a sector already under fire for sexual abuse of vulnerable women. President Katja Iversen, who has previously worked at the United Nations, said she would go on leave until the investigation was complete. Iversen acted after staff and activists on its prestigious Young Leaders programme spoke out in support of black former employees who said they had met with discrimination.
Women Deliver is a leading global advocacy organisation that champions the health and rights of girls and women and advises governments, corporations and civil society groups. It is known for its access to high-profile figures and for hosting the world’s biggest gender equality conference, drawing more than 8,000 people, including world leaders and royalty. But former staff said the organisation was marred by a “white savior complex” in accusations of discrimination which attracted widespread attention as protests against racism mounted around the world.
Another former staffer, Brittany Tatum, said she too had suffered discrimination, citing low pay, verbal abuse and even being asked if her hair was real by a member of human resources. She also saw qualified black candidates turned down for jobs, she said, due to a prevailing “white savior complex”. They were publicly backed by other current and former staff who attested to “systemic” racism and a toxic culture. More than 100 activists supported through Women Deliver’s Young Leaders programme issued a statement demanding action.
Experts said racism was widespread in women’s rights groups, threatening to further rock the non-profit sector, already badly bruised by revelations over sexual abuse by aid workers. Humanitarian groups had pledged to clean up their act after it emerged in 2018 that Oxfam staff used prostitutes in Haiti during an earthquake relief mission in a story which opened a wider discussion of abuse in the sector.
She said that a number of women working in the sector had got in contact in recent weeks expressing anger and outrage after their organisations released statements condemning racism while failing to tackle the issue in their own ranks. “Racism is rife in the women’s sector,” Aziz told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “This is a moment now for truth, for constructive action and less talk.”
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
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