Caritas women leaders

International Women’s Day, 8th March 2018

Six leading Catholic women. Six key roles in Caritas.

On International Women’s Day this 8th March, six women leaders from Caritas worldwide speak about pressing for progress in women’s rights and changing the balance of power.

From training women to protect precious habitats in Oceania, to helping female migrants in Algeria, women across Caritas are leading the way to a more equal world.

Marina Almeida,
Caritas Cape Verde

Larissa Franz,
Caritas Finland

Sihem S. Djermane,
Caritas Algeria

Sister Emma Lee,
Caritas Taiwan

Josephine S. Fiu,
Caritas Samoa

Cristina dos Anjos,
Caritas Brasil

Marina Almeida
Secretary General of Caritas Cape Verde

“It is a question of justice.”

I have been Secretary General of Caritas Caboverdiana for 21 years.

What do you love about your job?

What I love about my work is facing challenges. I get energy and motivation from transforming structures and the status quo on behalf of people in need. Not conforming to situations.

What inspires you most about the idea of Caritas Women’s Forum?

That the forum can provide a space for reflection, to build ideas around actions that can change the “established order”, in the interests of balance and equality.

It should lead to more participation of women in leadership positions across Caritas at all levels: international, national, diocese and parish.

Do you see a need for more women in leadership roles in your Caritas agency and if so, how can progress be made? What difference would that make to your workplace, and to the people we serve?

Our Caritas is unusual in being made up mostly of women. This has been a specific choice by our bishops since we were set up. We lack men in decision-making structures, especially at the national and diocesan level. So here in Cape Verde in fact we need to work for greater participation by men.

Do you think we have arrived at a cultural shift on the issue of equality between women and men?



I’ve been following the movements at the national level, as well as internationally and in the Church. We can no longer view equal opportunities between men and women as simply a cultural issue. It is a question of justice. We must work to change mentalities and to establish an equilibrium between men and women based on equality.

Larissa Franz
Secretary General of Caritas Finland

“Together we are stronger.”

I have been Secretary General of Caritas Finland since 2016. Caritas has always been part of my adult life. I first joined Caritas as a volunteer, then worked on projects, moved to the board and finally assumed my position as Secretary General.

What do you love about your job?

My drive is to work for social justice, to do everything I can to work for people and to be their voice.

What inspires you most about the idea of Caritas Women’s Forum?

This forum is about joining women’s voices together. And together we are stronger.

Do you see a need for more women in leadership roles in your Caritas and if so, how can progress be made? What difference would that make to your workplace, and to people we serve?

My dream is to see a leadership programme for women inside Caritas, which teaches girls and women about leadership values, so that they in turn can become leaders in Caritas and in society.

Do you think we have arrived at a time of cultural shift in the issue of equality between women and men?



Coming from a northern European and Nordic context, I see plenty of ways in which women are taking on responsibilities. Some old role models do persist, but there has been progress in many ways.

I am a working mother with three children myself. This is possible thanks to the support of our society – opportunities for study, for child care and a good school system – and thanks to my husband. For families to be strong, we need the support of society. 

Sihem Sindt
Consultant for Caritas Algeria

“Women have always been at the heart of Caritas Algeria’s work.”

I’m an expert in development strategy for social and humanitarian organisations. I’ve been helping Caritas Algeria with institutional development and project work for almost three years.

What do you love about your job?

What I love about my work is the human aspect of transition and institutional change. You have to take account of everyone’s different timescales and the issues they each have at stake.

What inspires you most about the idea of Caritas Women’s Forum?

It immediately makes me think of the integral development of the human being. This is an essential issue of our time. Rethinking the position and role of women in the Caritas global network seems absolutely relevant to me.

Do you see a need for more women in leadership roles in your Caritas agency?

In Caritas Algeria, positions of responsibility are occupied equally by men and women. Ninety percent of staff at our national Caritas are women. The national coordination is female and the treasury is held by a woman. Out of the four diocesan Caritas, there are three male directors and one woman. The operational teams consist mainly of women.

On the other hand, the National Council, the organ of political and strategic decisions, is exclusively held by men, since it consists of bishops, their vicars general and the general secretary of Caritas Algeria. The only exception is the support officer for the strategic development of Caritas Algeria (myself). 

Have we arrived at a time of cultural shift in the issue of equality between women and men?



I believe that social and environmental changes are undeniable. This inevitably has a constant impact on the changing roles of women and men in our societies. The timescale of change is different depending on the cultural and environmental contexts of the country or region, but it is inevitable.

Is there a human story from Caritas’ fight against injustice towards women worldwide that made a lasting impact on you?



Women have always been at the heart of Caritas Algeria’s work. As a woman in Algeria, it is always more difficult to assert one’s rights, but when one is a woman, a Christian from sub-Saharan Africa without identity papers, and six months pregnant, then it is virtually impossible. The team at Caritas Algeria helped one such young woman to regain her lost humanity, after she had been gang raped while crossing the desert. She was cared for, reassured and accompanied by a medical team during her pregnancy. Three months later, she gave birth to a girl.

Sister Emma Lee
Director of Caritas Taiwan

“We can see women’s self esteem improve. It is very rewarding.”

I have been working with Caritas for 30 years.

What do you love about your job?

I love working with the poor, for the poor. I draw inspiration for my work from St. Vincent de Paul. ad For me, the best part of my service to people is to see someone having their dignity restored to them.

What inspires you about Caritas Women’s Forum?

I believe it will encourage women to be more involved in the work of the Church.

What difference would having more women in leadership make to your workplace, and to the people we serve?

I believe women have more potential that needs to be tapped into. Women have particular unique strengths in making a difference to people’s lives.

Is there a human story from Caritas’ fight against injustice towards women that you can share?

Caritas Taiwan has worked tirelessly in advocating rights for migrant workers here. One of the success stories is our advocacy work to get the law on household service changed in Taiwan. The new act gives domestic workers protection in term of their working hours, their days off and the level of minimum salary.

Fifty percent of migrant workers here are women, and thirty seven percent are working in the service sector as caretakers and domestic workers. We organise language classes to help them integrate with our culture and families.

We also send volunteers to work with women in a public health program that helps women regain their dignity and enhance their education. We can see women’s self esteem improve. It is very rewarding.

Josephine Stowers Fiu
Volunteer at Caritas Samoa

“Campaigning has led to women becoming empowered”

I joined Caritas Samoa less than a year ago, after 15 years working as a lawyer in natural resources and environment law. I had a rewarding 12 years in government, which allowed me to advance issues on environment and climate change, as well as social justice and community development.

I feel excited about offering my experience to press for progress and raise awareness on women’s issues in the Oceania region.

What do you love about your job?

One thing I love about my work is seeing the positive outlook that communities have when it comes their own natural resources. They really appreciate learning and sharing knowledge, and are always looking for new ways to protect their rights to those resources, and become better custodians of their environment. This is especially true for women, who are the real bedrock of their households.

What inspires you most about the idea of the Caritas Women’s Forum?

I believe this could be a great platform for promoting women’s issues, and for generating more support for initiatives that help women mobilise their resources. It could boost programs that are already in place for local communities.

It could also offer more opportunities for empowering girls and women to become more active in leadership roles in all facets of society, whether in politics, workplaces or in the community.

What difference would having more women in leadership make to your workplace, and to the people we serve?

Caritas Samoa is led by a woman (Monica Sio), as is Caritas New Zealand (Julianne Hickey). I don’t think that the presence of more women in Caritas should make a difference to the people we serve, because as long as Caritas promotes what Pope Francis calls “an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society”, then I believe gender is not an issue.

Do you think we have arrived at a cultural shift in the issue of equality between women and men?

Personally, I do not think that the issue of equality between men and women has resulted in a cultural shift in our region of Oceania. If anything, it has promoted more awareness and understanding, as well as appreciation of womens’ roles in general. The only area that is still lagging for women here is political participation.

Have you seen progress in the advancement of women?

In Samoa, the custom is that in order to run for a position in politics, you have to be a chief. Most chiefs are men, so generally our region has seen very low female participation in politics. But in my local community, campaigning has led to a strong women movement for positions at the parliament.

Cristina dos Anjos
National Technical Advisor, Caritas Brazil

“It is crucial to keep this process going, and not let it be set back.”

I have been with Caritas for 28 years.

What do you love about your job?

I love the opportunity that Caritas gives me to integrate spirituality with social action. This means we can bring a dimension of pastoral care to the work we do.

What inspires you most about the idea of the Caritas Women’s Forum?

The forum gives Caritas Internationalis an opportunity for dialogue on the importance of women, their specific contribution and the position that women should hold across the network.

Do you see a need for more women in leadership roles in your Caritas agency?

There has been a significant presence of women in decision-making and leadership roles in the past 18 years here at Caritas Brazil. It is crucial to keep this process going, and not let it be set back. We should go on reflecting on the theme of equality within the Caritas network, and ensure that men and women have equal opportunities for participation.

This dynamic could enrich our work and our staff, and allow us to provide an even higher quality of work out in the communities that we reach.

Do you think we have arrived at a cultural shift in the issue of equality between women and men?

I believe that change has been happening gradually for some time. We still have many struggles ahead. Many things have already changed, yet there is still much to do.

Have you seen progress for women during your own career?

Around the world, Caritas women are constantly striving to be at the forefront of the struggle to improve living conditions for all people.

That is why it is so important and necessary that our Confederation continues to focus on getting the voice of women heard in decision-making processes, both locally and globally.