#impact Podcast: Social Impact | Social Entrepreneurship | Careers for Social Good · Regina Larko

From Crises to Courage | Catherine Gurtin |PathFinders.mp3

·58 min·3 clips

Pathfinders has trained almost 300 migrant domestic workers as community leaders since mid-2019.

1. Hashtag Impact speaks with Catherine Gurtin, Chief Executive Officer of Pathfinders, about migrant domestic workers, children, and community care in Hong Kong. 2. Regina Larko hosts the interview, and Catherine Gurtin matters because she leads Pathfinders and has worked on child rights and protection across Asia for more than a decade. 3. The episode asks what Hong Kong owes migrant domestic workers and their families when care systems, maternity rights, and employer obligations collide. 4. Catherine says Pathfinders learned that “you just have to take care of each other” because crisis can leave anyone without support. 5. She describes Hong Kong as a place with limited support for children and the elderly, which pushes households to rely on migrant domestic workers. 6. Catherine gives the numbers 340,000 domestic workers in Hong Kong in 2024 and a projected need for 600,000 by 2047. 7. She says many of those workers are women of childbearing age from places like the Philippines and Indonesia, where comprehensive sexual health education can be limited. 8. Catherine explains that women often have only one day off a week, and Pathfinders sees men approaching them in parks with promises of marriage and long-term relationships. 9. She says some women do not know they have maternity rights, and some employers do not understand the contract obligations tied to pregnancy. 10. Catherine describes Pathfinders moving beyond shelter, healthcare, education, and supplies toward prevention and systemic change. 11. She says the organization wants employers to keep workers on contract so the women can access public services for their babies in Hong Kong. 12. Catherine says the goal of NGO work is to “do themselves out of a job” by making the crisis less necessary. 13. She tells a case about a worker who went into labor at an employer’s home after concealing her pregnancy and later died in a coma while the baby was deceased. 14. Catherine says the reality for employers can also be difficult because many are trying to solve childcare or eldercare while facing an unexpected pregnancy disclosure. 15. She explains that Pathfinders launched an ambassadors program in mid-2019 and has now trained almost 300 migrant domestic workers as community leaders. 16. Catherine says the next step may involve systemic tools such as low-cost insurance, short-term cover for maternity leave, or ethical employment agencies. 17. The interview turns personal when Catherine recounts a triple ankle fracture, three surgeries, an IV-antibiotic hospital stay, a hysterectomy, and a High Rocks challenge in November 2023. 18. Her tone is candid and reflective, and Regina’s style is warm, personal, and grounded in follow-up questions about community and leadership. 19. People interested in Hong Kong labor issues, women’s work, and community-building will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for light entertainment or broad abstract talk may skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded look at community circles, debt pressure, and pushing past limits.

Monthly impact community circles, short teaching, journaling, and reflection set the frame before the episode moves into debt, loan sharks, and the need for financial literacy support.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a grounded take on courage when impact work gets complicated.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from #impact Podcast: Social Impact | Social Entrepreneurship | Careers for Social Good