Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 18 - Class matters in humanitarianism

Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024. This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 18 - Class matters in humanitarianism - contributed by Patricia Ward and Junru Bian.

From the introduction
Our approach to class and class inequalities in the humanitarian aid sector reflects and relates to our own social positions as academics trained in North American and European institutions in the disciplines of International Relations (Bian) and Sociology (Ward). Our perspectives, and the literature we cite in this chapter, are largely informed by works that are written in (or have been translated into) and for English language readers. Like humanitarian aid, English as the dominant lingua franca has shaped not only the scope of our discussion on this topic, but also our ability and position of power to contribute to this important conversation (Roth, 2019). We also write from particular standpoints as researchers familiar with specific geographical locations of the aid chain (Ward in Jordan and Bian in Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Mongolia), and as a former expatriate, humanitarian employee (Bian). Our and others’ perceptions of our gender, race, and class in these various contexts and times (including our academic institutional settings) undoubtedly shape our discussion and understanding of class matters in humanitarianism.
We start this chapter with a short discussion of class as a concept to situate our subsequent discussion of aid work as a middle-class profession. We highlight how calls to professionalise and localise the sector, as well as the increasing role of ‘gig’ and consultancy work in aid, reflect and compound ‘the humanitarian’ as an exclusive, class-based category of belonging.
We then describe how staff within the sector are situated within a global aid worker hierarchy, sustained by intersections of class, race, and nationality, and articulated through job titles, compensation, performance expectations, and professional mobility. Subsequently, we discuss class inequalities in relation to beneficiaries (including volunteers) in the aid sector: not only in terms of the processes and effects of delineating certain groups in ‘need’ versus others, but also in terms of how beneficiaries’ vulnerability, victimhood, and ‘resilience’ are instrumentalised to measure ‘good’ workers and projects. We conclude with a short reflection on how the organisation and delivery of aid relate to other hierarchies of worth shaping the global division of labour within and beyond humanitarianism.

Note on contributors
Patricia Ward is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Bielefeld in the Faculty of Sociology. Her research interests are in the areas of transnational labour, migration/mobility, and humanitarian aid and development. Her recent projects examine the configuration of humanitarian supply chains, and labor relations in Jordan’s aid sector.
Her research has been published in journals such as Current Sociology, Work, Employment and Society, Qualitative Inquiry, and Sociology of Development.

Junru Bian is a doctoral candidate at the School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa. His research focuses on the identities, spaces, and practices of peacekeeping, humanitarianism, and development. As part of his research, he interviews different conflict interveners to understand how their racial, gender, sexual, and classed identities can influence their everyday practices in crisis environments. He has worked in multiple humanitarian relief and development programs in Tajikistan, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Ethiopia.

Overviews are already available for the following chapters:
Introduction: humanitarianism and inequality – a re-orientation

Humanitarianism and colonialism

Humanitarianism and the global Cold War, 1945–1991

Humanitarianism and the new wars: humanitarianism, security, and securitisation

Humanitarianism, development and peace: a southern perspective

Localisation and the humanitarian sector

Human rights and humanitarianism

Humanitarian organisations: behemoths and butterflies

Faith actors in humanitarianism: dynamics and inequalities

Diaspora assistance  

Political solidarity movements and humanitarianism: lessons from Catalonia, Spain (1975–2020)

Subversive humanitarianism

Citizen’s groups and grassroots humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and the military

Race, racialisation, and coloniality in the humanitarian aid sector

Humanitarian organisations as gendered organisations

Sexuality and humanitarianism: colonial ‘hauntings’