If more people embraced empathy and compassion in their lives, it could be a more easeful way of living in this world.
— Kulani McCartan-Demie
Kulani shares her perspectives on how compassion has influenced her career trajectory and thinking in trade, economics, and international development. She shares personal experiences as well as her views on the wider, economic system, highlighting the importance of well-being for all. Why do compassionate relationships and networks often make the biggest difference in our trajectories? Why is compassion important for promoting sustainable development and fair policies? How can empathy transform rigid structures into more humane systems? These are some of the questions we delve into.
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About Kulani
Kulani McCartan-Demie is an international consultant with a background in cross-cutting research in economic transformation, trade facilitation, industrial policy and gender mainstreaming.
She has worked on policy design and implementation for the likes of the International Trade Centre, World Trade Organisation, UNIDO, the African Development Bank and was also a contributing author to the LSE’s African Trade Policy Programme’s inaugural How Africa Trades book (2023). Kulani is the founder of the Organisation for Economic Transformation (OET), specialising in consultancy services and researching the following policy conundrum: How to collectively square the uneven outcomes of advancing economic transformation on people's lives and the planet's ecosystem.
Outside of her consultancy projects, Kulani cares about community and collective organising, running Women’s retreats and workshops for creatives and artists through Zami Collective.
SJ: What draws you to explore the topic of compassion?
KMCD: As I explore my connection to the world, I realise our deep interconnectedness. Emotions, particularly compassion, play a significant role in this understanding. Compassion involves genuinely empathising with others without expecting anything in return.
My parents, who migrated to the UK from Ireland and Ethiopia, instilled this value in me. They raised our family, emphasising community and collective well-being, binding us together through a greater purpose.
If more people embraced empathy and compassion in their lives, it could be a more easeful way of living in this world.
In seeking different frameworks and perspectives to comprehend the world, I've discovered that a spiritual worldview, combined with an economic development perspective, can complement each other. We might frame this as “economics, with values added,” an idea shared with me some years back while reading Wilma Mankiller’s Everyday is a Good Day.
SJ: How do you see these two different perspectives informing each other?
KMCD: The field of international development is complex, with many underlying paradoxes.
The traditional, linear approach to growth and development often overlooks the human-being aspect of progress. We shouldn't pursue policy objectives just for the sake of it; there should be a human element that supports the well-being of all.
How we collectively define growth and development is crucial.
Many current approaches seem misguided. In fact, sometimes they appear to identify a solution before the problem is properly unpacked with the community in question. The development path is not fixed or linear; it's messy, and we need to create space for new ways of thinking. Whether we label it “spiritual” or “human”, these perspectives allow us to think of alternative methods when considering economic transformation and development.
Working in international development, we need compassion as a compass to balance and guide us.
SJ: What reactions have you received when you’ve tried introducing these perspectives through your work?
KMDC: I have noticed more openness and receptiveness, especially among younger generations. Older colleagues have reassured me that there is hope for more conscientious approaches based on their lived experiences and progress since the post-World War II era.
It’s a journey for many of us, but I remain hopeful that alternative approaches exist. For example, I recently saw a Financial Times article on trade and the social contract. This “trickle up” rather than the standard “trickle down” paradigm indicates that a different discourse could emerge. I’m hopeful I can be one seed of change in this movement.
SJ: What is an example from your experience where compassion positively impacted a project?
KMDC: A couple of examples come to mind. During my time at Warwick University, I had incredibly compassionate supervisors, particularly one who continues to mentor me today. He's in his late 70s, but he recognised my passion for African economic and social development, and my connection to both my Ethiopian and Irish heritage. He played a crucial role in my career, helping me start my first consultancy project during the challenging period of COVID-19, which led to other projects.
His support during such a tumultuous time showed me how compassion can truly shift one's external reality and boost confidence.
I also had a very empathetic boss when I joined an organisation in Addis Ababa. She acknowledged my unique experience as Ethiopian diaspora and was there to talk and support me in the first days of my new job.
Her compassionate leadership made a challenging transition smoother and showed how human connection in the workplace can make a significant impact.
Another example is from my research work at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE). I advocated for in-depth interviews with a wide range of people, from presidential offices to informal traders, ensuring their voices were heard equally. I even used WhatsApp for interviews, creatively getting consent forms signed through voice notes to ensure the informal traders' perspectives were included. This created a much stronger piece of research woven around a tapestry of voices.
SJ: It sounds like you've had some wonderful people around you. Recently, I attended a conference on leadership for women in international development. One speaker talked about how we lean on four different groups of people in our careers: allies, mentors, coaches, and sponsors. Your professor from Warwick sounds like a sponsor; a person who opens doors and unlocks opportunities for you.
KMDC: Yes, absolutely!
A network of connections, with people showing compassion in various ways, has been crucial in my journey. It's these compassionate relationships that often make the biggest difference.
I try to pay the compassion I have received forward to others when they seek advice or tips on getting into different institutions or jobs.
SJ: I'm curious if you have an example of a project that did not go as planned due to a lack of compassion. What are your experiences?
KMDC: One personal example is when I transitioned from full-time work at an international organisation to being an independent consultant. The shift meant taking on more risk and dealing with people who sometimes lacked empathy for the challenges of freelancing, such as financial instability and juggling multiple projects.
Negotiating my worth and value was challenging and at odds with my nature. Sometimes, projects were handled with less care, leading to some disheartening experiences.
SJ: What negative impacts did you notice in those situations?
KMDC: I take people at face value, valuing transparency and honesty. After such experiences, I became more intentional about the projects I worked on, which encouraged me to pursue other dreams alongside consulting, like hosting women's retreats through Zami Collective.
Beautiful and joyful things can emerge out of the messiness. We may even see these obstacles as course corrections. But on a human level, the lack of compassion can still be disheartening.
SJ: Have you had any experiences of projects failing in your economic research due to a lack of compassion?
KMDC: During my research on informal cross-border trade for the LSE's How Africa Trades book, I found that informal traders faced severe disruptions during COVID-19 with no safety net once borders suddenly closed overnight. Despite their significant contribution to the economy, official policies still tend to prioritise formal, large-scale trade. This amazed me. "Small" players matter – especially when the aggregate value of informal trade may even exceed that of formal intra-African trade.
It's crucial to have compassionate, inclusive policies that recognise and support all economic contributors, not just the formal sector.
SJ: You've touched on the importance of compassion in both personal and professional settings. What ideas do you have for bringing more compassion?
KMDC: Intuitively, I believe we should all strive to lead lives that are in harmony with the well-being of others.
Our well-being should not come at the expense of someone else's, nor does it need to. Mutual respect for each other's needs is crucial.
Unfortunately, we often see situations globally where one person's well-being is perceived as only secure at the cost of another's. Can we evolve beyond this? I believe we can. Isn't that the point of human evolution - to progress?
Practically speaking, fostering more compassion involves sharing and shifting perspectives and being willing to rethink and reshape our views.
If we can be open, there can be a meaningful exchange of ideas. Perhaps we need to reconsider how we grow in more industrialised parts of the world and listen more to the global majority. This involves co-creating in ways that are slower, fairer, and nonviolent, integrating indigenous practices and wisdom that are often overlooked in the economic order.
SJ: What have you learned about other practices?
KMDC: While studying abroad in Australia, I learned about indigenous epistemology and cosmology, which provided fresh perspectives. Such alternative worldviews can guide us back to the source, to the land, and to people with immense wisdom who are often not listened to.
While it might sound abstract, the idea is to slow down and rethink what it means to live a meaningful, easeful life where well-being is prioritised for all, not just a few.
Even those who seem to benefit the most from the current system face immense pressure to maintain their position, which isn't truly easeful. It feels like organised scarcity.
SJ: Can you give an example of what that could look like? What could be the first step?
KMDC: I would love to see economists, development specialists, and others from outside the development sphere sit in a circle, humbled, grounded, and open to finding ways to integrate compassion into rigid structures - if that were possible! For now, I enjoy bringing together women, creatives, and artists in Kenya to explore their inner worlds and see how that spills over into the external world.
There are many options for creating an alternative way to exist in this world, but we need the space and willingness to let these ideas flourish.
SJ: Open conversations are always an important place to start. What else would you like to add on the topic of compassion?
KMDC: Humanising the workplace by considering people's different experiences and natural cycles is essential.
For example, in spring and summer, I feel more energised and eager to plant seeds for new projects, which I hope to harvest later in the year. Similarly, as childcare support has been integrated into some workplaces, there should be provisions for women's cycles and menstruation. It shouldn't be taboo—it impacts not just well-being but also productivity.
We can work in a more attuned manner. Humanising the workplace by honouring these cycles - be it female cycles, seasonal cycles, or otherwise - offers a more feminine approach compared to the linear, often masculine model of constant action.
Globally, we must listen to and integrate teachings from different cultures and communities. Countries further along in their industrialisation journey often insist on a single path, which can be very paternalistic and rigid. We need to allow space for flexibility, pivoting, and adapting based on different perspectives and needs.
SJ: Thank you for your insights and for humanising the experience of compassion.
This conversation reflects Kulani's personal views and not those of any organisation she has worked for or currently works for.
If this piece resonated, you are welcome to reach out to Kulani on LinkedIn for further exchanges.
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