Marcella.jpg | Marina Cavazza

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Marcella, Italy
UN Human rights specialist
French-Cameroonian partner
Mother of two daughters, 6 and 8 years old

I moved to Geneva in order to put the children to a safe environment. We were both working at the UN in Congo when my first daughter was born. It never crossed my mind to give up my job or even change it. It was more a question of finding a reliable nanny and making sure the baby doesn’t contract malaria... but when the fighting broke out in Kinshasa, as a parent, I came to realise I could no longer work there. Coming here meant that we are now living in two different places. My husband stayed in Congo. It was not the original plan, though. We were supposed to find a job in the same place, but it is taking longer than expected. This is why our nanny has become a third parent to my girls and every eight weeks my husband comes back and spends about three weeks here with us. It’s weird, it’s far from ideal, but it’s a compromise, considering that neither of us is ready to give up our jobs.
It’s a way to keep the family together and pursue our professional aspirations, I guess.
If you had asked me what I thought about gender equality, women’s rights eight years ago, I would have said: “We’re fine!” Now I realise that there is still a lot of work to do... there are so many entrenched behaviours and mentalities that are hard to change.

Filename: Marcella.jpg
Copyright: Marina Cavazza
Image Size: 1772x1417 / 1.5MB; portrait portrait womanhood gender motherhood expatriate geneva life stile career
Contained in galleries: Portrait of a (Working) Mother_Exeter edition

Marcella, Italy<br />
UN Human rights specialist<br />
French-Cameroonian partner<br />
Mother of two daughters, 6 and 8 years old<br />
<br />
I moved to Geneva in order to put the children to a safe environment. We were both working at the UN in Congo when my first daughter was born. It never crossed my mind to give up my job or even change it. It was more a question of finding a reliable nanny and making sure the baby doesn’t contract malaria... but when the fighting broke out in Kinshasa, as a parent, I came to realise I could no longer work there. Coming here meant that we are now living in two different places. My husband stayed in Congo. It was not the original plan, though. We were supposed to find a job in the same place, but it is taking longer than expected. This is why our nanny has become a third parent to my girls and every eight weeks my husband comes back and spends about three weeks here with us. It’s weird, it’s far from ideal, but it’s a compromise, considering that neither of us is ready to give up our jobs. <br />
It’s a way to keep the family together and pursue our professional aspirations, I guess. <br />
If you had asked me what I thought about gender equality, women’s rights eight years ago, I would have said: “We’re fine!” Now I realise that there is still a lot of work to do... there are so many entrenched behaviours and mentalities that are hard to change.