How are refugee experiences gendered, and what is the role of education in empowering female migrants and refugees? In this episode, Freya Thompson chats with Olivia Darby, Chief Programmes Officer at the WONDER Foundation. A women-led charity, WONDER seeks to support women and girls through education. Since 2018, the organisation has been working on a collaborative project across the UK, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain to empower migrant women, and it has recently become involved in supporting Ukrainian female refugees. Discussing the work of the organisation, Olivia reflects on the politicised nature of refugee policies in the UK, the need to understand gendered power relations when assessing migrant women’s access to education, and the lessons we can learn from the crisis in Ukraine. 

Freya Thompson is an MSc Development Studies student in the Department of International Development at LSE. She previously did her BSc in Politics and History at LSE, and during this time she volunteered with the WONDER Foundation as a research and policy intern. She is passionate about upholding refugee rights, promoting gender equality, and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SHRH) for all. 

Olivia Darby is Chief Programmes Officer at the WONDER Foundation. She has previously undertaken a range of policy and project management work for a number of civil society organisations. She has extensive volunteer experience, which includes setting up and leading projects for women and young people nationally and internationally. She holds the APMP project management qualification.