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Opinion: On equity in the international
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development sector — we need more
intravists
By Blessing Omakwu // 05 June 2020

Social/Inclusive Development Institutional Development Careers & Education

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Intravism involves internal efforts to change organizational structures. Photo by: fauxels from Pexels
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Here’s an invitation: Become an intravist.

Please do not bother googling this term: Intravism is a term I began to use Recommended for you
when I realized that as a Nigerian-American woman climbing the ladder in the
international development sector, some of the most valuable activism my 1 Isagenda
it finally time for the localization
to take off?
background had prepared me for would not happen in the streets, but in closed
meetings and email chains. 2 Why focusing on gender-based
violence is a priority in a crisis

Change requires a broad range of actors, who all move movements in different 3 Opinion: We need a feminist response
to this pandemic
ways. While activism involves external efforts to bring about systemic change
in society, intravism involves internal efforts to change organizational 4 Around the world, migrants and
refugees are stranded between closed
structures.
borders

Here are some of the issues that have become a focus of my intravism journey. 5 COVID-19 halts Northern Triangle
migration, but deportations continue

1. Policies

Intravism involves developing and Trending

advocating for internal policies that Opinion: International
development has a race problem ! Yemen crisis
ensure organizations walk their talk.
So much of the work we do in the ! COVID-19 Trends Tracker
It's time for the aid sector to
international development sector is acknowledge that "diversity" isn't as ! Funding insights
about policies, but far too often, the inclusive as it sounds. Global health
! COVID-19
executive Angela Bruce-Raeburn
internal policies of our organizations
explains.
do not match the external policies we
advocate for externally. ADVERTISEMENT

We speak on panels about intersectionality but have our gender equality

initiatives designed by teams of white women. We advocate for governmental
transparency but have no policies within our organizations on resource
allocation transparency or pay transparency. We promote social inclusion
policies, without having tangible diversity and inclusion policies within our
own organizations.

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By the way, if you think your organization is diverse because you hire black
people in your Africa offices, think again. What do your America and Europe
offices look like?

Intravism is a term I began to use when I realized that as a

Nigerian-American woman climbing the ladder in the
international development sector, some of the most valuable
activism ... would not happen in the streets, but in closed
meetings and email chains.
—

2. Power

Intravism concerns advocacy for organizational power to be distributed and

wielded equitably. Empowerment is a ubiquitous term in the development
sector, but we don’t talk about power nearly enough.

Empowerment is gaining a platform to share your story. Power is deciding the

stories that get told. Empowerment is participating in a fellowship that
accelerates your career. Power is selecting who participates in the fellowship
program. Empowerment is receiving a grant. Power is deciding the ideas that
get funded and the people who implement them.

Empowerment is not wrong — there are millions whose lives depend on it. The
problem is a certain type of people are often the beneficiaries of empowerment,
but rarely the custodians of it. What does your senior leadership team look
like? What does your board look like?

3. Privilege

To be an intravist is to be conscious of your privilege. Privilege can be

uncomfortable to talk about, so I’ll start with a few of mine: I was able to do a
slew of unpaid internships thanks to economic privilege, and the passport
privilege that allowed me to explore scholarships and opportunities on two
continents — something many of my peers who were interested in development
careers could not do. Unpaid internships are pervasive across the sector,
barring entry for many.

To be an intravist is to spend your privilege. When you put in a good word for a
qualified candidate who lacks connections, you are spending your privilege.
When you as a white person, disclose your pay to a person of color, you are
spending your privilege — too many of us are devalued. When you speak up for
a junior colleague who is being mistreated by their manager, you are spending
your privilege. When you speak out about a microaggression a colleague of
color experiences, you are spending your privilege — too many minorities carry
the burden of silence to be deemed professional.

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To be an intravist is to relinquish your privilege. Decline a speaking gig and

nominate a minority you know would be overlooked. Ask if a qualified person
of color in your organization who could use the exposure more than you can
attend a conference in your place. Give up the board chair you’ve kept warm for
a decade and nominate a young person, a black woman — the type of people
who don’t make it to the boardrooms of the organization you advise.

4. Pay

Intravists advocate for pay justice. Money is one of the strongest measures of
value, and you pay for what you value. What types of labor does your
organization value? Think about this when your organization utilizes the talent
of freelancers, consultants, and activists who will not have the time they have
given to your organization compensated by a traditional employer.

What types of expertise does your organization value? If your organization

believes in gender equality, it should not have a gender pay gap. If your
organization values black lives, it should pay for black expertise
commensurately.

Empowerment is a ubiquitous term in the development sector,

but we don’t talk about power nearly enough. Empowerment is
gaining a platform to share your story. Power is deciding the
stories that get told.
—

5. Programs

Intravists decolonize program designs. When international development

organizations develop programs, there is often a focus on countries in Africa
and Asia. But if there is one lesson this sector can take from COVID-19, it is
this: The binaries of developed and developing countries are outdated. This
idea is not new — it has led to acronyms like “LMIC” and has been the focus of
several theses and panels over the years.

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It is not enough to change our rhetoric and acronyms though: The way we
design programs should change too. When you develop indexes and campaign
graphics, be sure to reflect the poverty and inequities in America and Europe.
Engage black experts in America and Europe, not just in Africa. And in Africa,
don’t just make Africans the faces of your programs — pay them to be the
brains that lead it.

The American context currently weighs heavy on my heart, and my vantage

point will always be that of a Nigerian-American woman, but there are several
other vantage points to be considered. Organizations like Charity So White are
tackling institutional racism within the charity sector in the United Kingdom.
Organizations like Population Works have developed courses on decolonizing
development. They are two of many. Listen to them. Learn from them.
Financially support them.

But please remember that listening and learning is not the work. Remember
that conversations and courses are not the work. These things are preparation
for the work. Prepare, and then decide to do the work.

Decide, and then do the work.

About the author

Blessing Omakwu ! @BlessingOmakwu
Blessing Omakwu is an international development consultant, women’s equality
evangelist, and lawyer. She advises philanthropic and international development
organizations and runs The She Tank, a think-tank promoting the realization of SDG 5 for
black women.

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