Job Security, Equity and the Future of Public Affairs
1. The Illusion of Safety
For a long time, many of us believed that doing meaningful work offered some protection. Not from burnout, maybe, but from instability. That if we stayed mission-driven, worked hard, and delivered impact, the system would take care of us. Not extravagantly, but reliably.
But that belief is starting to crack. Over the past few years, it’s become clear that public interest work — advocacy, policy, communications, government affairs — isn’t immune to precarity. In fact, it may be especially vulnerable.
So if job security is disappearing, it’s worth asking: Whose futures are still being prioritized and whose are most at risk?
2. The Uneven Terrain of Public Work
Public work has long been framed as a calling. But too often, that framing is used to justify underpaying people, overrelying on their commitment, and overlooking their very real needs for stability and growth.
And when cuts happen, they rarely land evenly.
The mid-career staffer of color whose role is quietly cut when a grant ends.
The younger, lower-paid employee expected to "step up" without real support.
The well-networked colleague who lands softly in another role.
Even in organizations that preach equity, the values can disappear when the budget tightens. And the people most impacted — often women, BIPOC staff, first-gen professionals — are left wondering whether their commitment was ever truly valued.
3. Safety, Redefined
If traditional job security is fading, what does safety look like now?
Maybe it's time to redefine it.
Safety as flexibility: knowing you can land on your feet, not just stay in one spot.
Safety as visibility: being known for your work across institutions, not just within one.
Safety as community: having a network that acts like a safety net.
Of course, not everyone has equal access to these things. That’s why this moment calls for a deeper reckoning with how we build and share that safety.
4. The Stories We’ve Been Told and Sold
We’ve all heard the old playbooks:
Just lean in.
Build your network.
Stay mission-driven, the rest will follow.
But for many, those scripts never worked. And in a shifting economy, they ring even more hollow.
In public interest work especially, people are often asked to give more than they get — to stay late, stretch thin, go above and beyond — with little institutional protection in return. And the myth of meritocracy still lingers, even in sectors that know better.
5. When Our Instability Becomes Theirs
This isn’t just about what precarity does to us; it’s about what it does to the people we serve.
When public interest workers are constantly navigating instability — cycling in and out of roles, juggling side hustles, operating under temporary funding — it affects the continuity, trust, and follow-through that so much of this work depends on.
We can’t build long-term trust with communities when the people doing the work are forced to leave every 18 months. We can’t create lasting change when institutional knowledge keeps walking out the door. And we can’t expect vulnerable communities to place their faith in systems that don’t even protect the people working inside them.
Our own stability isn’t just a professional issue: it’s an equity one. If we want to serve well, we have to be well-supported ourselves.
6. What We Can Build Instead
So what do we do?
We build something better. Slowly, imperfectly, but together ensure:
Transparent hiring and offboarding practices that honor people’s time and contributions
Peer-to-peer networks that support job searches, referrals, and resource sharing
Mentorship and sponsorship that takes identity, career stage, and lived experience into account
We rethink what success means: not just how far you’ve climbed, but how much you’ve helped others up along the way.
And we start telling the truth: that purpose alone isn’t enough. That fairness isn’t a given. That safety isn’t always offered but it can be created.
7. A Future Worth Protecting
So what kind of future are we building if it only works for some of us?
These reflections are personal: not a judgment of any one organization or role, but part of a broader conversation I think we need to have across the field.
If job security is no longer a given, then maybe safety is something we build intentionally, collectively, and with a clear eye on who’s still being left behind.
Because a field that values equity can’t treat its people as expendable. And a future that’s truly worth protecting has to protect all of us.