The Conversation

Rich families around the world employ butlers and maids to look after their expensive properties. These houseworkers have access to every aspect of their employers’ lives: they get to know their habits and their deepest secrets. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two former maids who worked for wealthy families in the USA and the UK. Stephanie Land is the bestselling author of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, a poignant memoir highlighting the plight of overworked and underpaid domestic workers in the USA. Her story has recently been turned into the successful Netflix series, Maid. When she was 19, Sara Vestin Rahmani moved from Sweden to London to work as an au pair for a rich family. She thought she would only stay for a year, but she quickly became embedded in the family’s life, and was exposed to a lifestyle she never imagined was possible. She is now the director of Bespoke Bureau and the British Butler Academy, a high-end recruitment and training agency of domestic and elite service staff. Producer: Alice Gioia(Image: (L) Stephanie Land, credit Ashley Farr. (R) Sara Vestin Rahmani, credit Bespoke Bureau)

There are many thousands of people around the world trying to protect endangered species in their natural habitat – around one in ten of them are female but that number is growing. In Africa alone 18 different countries employ female park rangers. Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two women from South Africa and Zambia to talk about what they do. Tsakane Nxumalo is a junior ranger from The Black Mambas - an unarmed all-female ranger unit in South Africa working in the Greater Kruger National Park. Their job is to protect rhino herds from local bushmeat hunters and organised rhino-poaching syndicates. Since their foundation in 2013 they’ve removed thousands of snares and poison traps, dramatically reducing poaching activity and encouraging people to see the region as a resource for wildlife and nature tourism. Lisa Siamusantu is part of Kufadza, Zambia’s first all-female anti-poaching community scout unit working with Conservation Lower Zambezi. She’d had to drop out of university and was supporting her mother in their village in near the Lower Zambezi National Park when she saw a recruitment advert for this armed ranger unit. She says the training was the hardest thing she’s ever done, but now she says whatever she does in the future it will have to be with nature and wildlife ‘I don’t want to stop doing this job.’The teams are funded with money from government, non-government organisations and charity. They’ve both been recognised by World Female Ranger Day which is supporting women wildlife rangers around the world.Produced by Jane ThurlowIMAGE L: Tsakane Nxumalo, courtesy The Black Mambas R: Lisa Siamusantu, credit Matt Sommerville

It’s understood the climate crisis will disproportionately disrupt the lives of women around the globe. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two academics about the work they do and the impact of changing weather patterns on women. As the primary food growers and water collectors, women are hardest hit by floods and droughts. They’re also less financially equipped to flee when natural disaster strikes, and vulnerable to gender-based violence. Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a biogeochemist – a soil scientist – at the University of California, Merced. Her research is focused on understanding how disturbances in the environment affect the cycles of essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen through the soil system. While extreme weather events often result in the degradation of soil, she says effective land restoration could play an important role in sequestering CO2 and slowing climate change.Dr Katharine Vincent is a British geographer working in southern Africa. Her research has focused on vulnerability to climate change and the adaptations that can be made. She’s particularly interested in how these changes impact men and women differently, investigating institutional aspects of climate change, adaptation, food security and social protection. Produced by Jane ThurlowIMAGE L: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, credit Teamrat A Ghezzehei R: Katharine Vincent, credit Klaus Wohlmann

A man is twice as likely to rise to the top of an international non-governmental organization (INGO) than a woman. Kim Chakanetsa meets two exceptions to this rule. Amanda Khozi Mukwashi is the CEO of Christian Aid, an INGO that works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. She’s also the author of But where are you really from? Summer Nasser is the CEO of Yemen Aid, an INGO established in late 2016 by a group of Yemeni-American women in response to the crisis in the country where, according to the UN, 80% of the population need humanitarian assistance and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished. Yemen Aid is one of the organisations providing humanitarian relief to thousands of people on the ground.Produced by Alice Gioia. IMAGES: Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, credit Christian Aid/Alex Baker Summer Nasser, courtesy of Summer Nasser

The stereotype in the entrepreneurial world is that women are too risk averse to lead companies. But is that true? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women who turned their start-ups into successful enterprises. Linh Thai is one of Vietnam’s top female entrepreneurs. She was brought up in the USA, after her mother fled their war-torn home country with Linh and her sister, who died during the journey. Her mum’s leap of faith inspired Linh to move back to Vietnam and become an entrepreneur. She is now a co-star on the investment reality show Shark Tank Vietnam and founder of TVL Group, a workplace skills training company focused on early- and mid-career professionals.Monica Musonda is a Zambian lawyer who decided to quit her high-flying corporate career to start her own company. She’s now the CEO of Java Foods, a food processing company providing affordable nutrition to the southern African market. She is one of the few Zambian women involved in manufacturing and agro-processing and she is a member of the UN Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.Produced by Alice GioiaIMAGES: (L) Linh Thai, courtesy of Linh Thai (R) Monica Musonda, courtesy of Monica Musonda

What does it feel like to fall through the sky? Two women who have broken barriers and mastered the art of skydiving from India and the United States tell Kim Chakanetsa the answer.The very first time Rachel Thomas flew in an aeroplane, she jumped out of it at 4,500 feet. Fast forward to 2002 and she became the first Indian woman to skydive and set foot on the North Pole. In her 25-year career she has completed 650 skydives in 11 countries, has been a judge at skydiving competitions and has received many awards including the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award. Danielle Williams is an African American disabled skydiver who is an advocate for greater diversity in outdoor adventure sports. She graduated from Harvard in 2008 and spent a decade in the U.S. Army. She has completed over 600 jumps, and in 2014 co-founded Team Blackstar Skydivers. This team, originally made up of six African Americans who linked up in a "black star" formation skydive, has now grown to a diverse group of over 330 skydivers in six countries. She is also the Founder and Senior Editor of Melanin Base Camp, an outdoor blog promoting diversity.Produced by Emily Naylor and Alice Gioia. IMAGES: (L) Rachel Thomas, courtesy of Rachel Thomas (R) Danielle Williams, credit Ro Asgari

There are many different routes to parenthood. For a growing number of women that route does not involve waiting for a partner to start a family. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two mothers by choice about the joys and challenges of single parenthood. Marie Stern Olsson is from Sweden, where single mothers have only recently been given the same right as couples to access state-funded fertility treatments. She had her son through insemination in 2017. She believes that having a strong support network and a single parent-friendly welfare system made her choice possible. Supriya Deverkonda is based in India, where single people are allowed to adopt children, but there is still a strong stigma around single mothers. In 2013 Supriya decided to adopt a 5-month-old baby, defying cultural stereotypes around traditional family and marriage. Eight years on, she is still having to deal with bureaucratic hurdles and scepticism, but she says she wouldn’t have it any other way. Produced by Alice GioiaIMAGE (L) Marie Stern Olsson, courtesy of Marie Stern Olsson (R) Supriya Deverkonda, credit Arti Anand

Street artists from Switzerland and Uganda talk to Kim Chakanetsa about creating public art to enrich lives and bring about change.The Swiss artist Mona Caron is best known for her multi-story murals celebrating the rebellious resilience of weeds. She first became a muralist in her adoptive hometown of San Francisco, and creates images on a massive scale in public spaces. She blends her artivism with social movements, and enjoys working in collaboration with kindred-spirited artists and activists.Fatuma Hassan is a painter, graffiti artist and muralist who lives and works in Jinja, Uganda. She says she's never met another female street artist in the country and people are sometimes shocked that she's climbing ladders to paint her murals on buildings. She likes projects that raise community awareness and celebrate the African woman. She's part of the Afri-cans festival and has created murals in Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya.Produced by Jane ThurlowIMAGE (L) Mona Caron, credit Chris Carlsson (R) Fatuma Hassan, courtesy Fatuma Hassan

Dazzling lights, fancy costumes, thrilling dance routines and the nightly applause of an adoring audience - what's it like to sing on the world's biggest stages? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two musical theatre stars about life on stage - and the challenges that Covid-19 restrictions have brought.Australian actress Jemma Rix is starring as Elsa in Disney’s Frozen the Musical. With no formal training she moved to Japan to start her career singing and dancing at the Universal Studios theme park in Osaka. This is where she was first cast at everyone's favourite green witch, Elphaba in Wicked - a role she went on to play on stage to great acclaim for eight years.Filipino actress Christine Allado has returned to the stage in London's West End after a break of 15 months when theatres were closed because of Covid-19 restrictions. She’s currently starring as Tzipporah, the wife of Moses, in The Prince of Egypt. She took a year out after university to work at Hong Kong Disneyland, singing some roles in Cantonese despite not knowing the language, and she’s never looked back.Produced by Jane ThurlowIMAGE (L) Christine Allado, credit Roberto Vivancos Studio (R) Jemma Rix, courtesy Jemma Rix

What does it take to run a country? Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two international leaders who have championed women’s health, equality and empowerment throughout their careers. They will discuss their personal journeys, the impact Covid-19 has had on the wellbeing of women around the world, and why more women should join the political arena. The guests will also be taking questions from two young female activists and leaders in women’s rights, health and climate change. Michelle Bachelet became Chile’s first female president in 2006 and served a second term in 2014. In 1973, her father was detained and tortured under General Pinochet’s dictatorial rule. Two years later she was also imprisoned with her mother and then exiled for four years. When she returned to Chile, she became a doctor and worked with victims of torture. She is currently the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Helen Clark was the first woman to be elected as prime minister of New Zealand and the first woman to serve for three consecutive terms. After her premiership, she became the first female head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and last year she co-chaired an Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response to explore the global response to Covid-19. She’s also board chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH).