How should the new international disaster risk framework address gender equality?

The document argues that while gender mainstreaming is embedded in international policies, a significant gap remains in national and local implementation of disaster risk reduction. It highlights that disasters often result in higher mortality for women and exacerbate existing inequalities, such as the wage gap seen after Hurricane Katrina. However, it also emphasizes that women possess unique capacities and leadership skills in disaster recovery, such as organizing emergency kitchens in Jakarta. The brief warns against treating women as a homogenous vulnerable group and criticizes the assumption in some industrialized nations that existing equality laws automatically ensure gender-sensitive DRR. It recommends that the next international framework (HFA2) utilize an independent institution for monitoring and prioritize the collection of gender-disaggregated data.

• Disasters frequently result in higher mortality rates for women than men, often due to social roles and physical capabilities. For example, in North Aceh and Aceh Besar, Indonesia, 77% and 72% of deaths following the 2004 tsunami were female, while in Cuddalore, India, 62% of the deceased were female.
• Natural disasters can widen existing economic and social gender gaps. Following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the median earnings of men increased while the median earnings for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino women fell, and rising rents further restricted women's access to affordable housing.

APA

Le Masson, D. V., & Langston, L. (2014). How should the new international disaster risk framework address gender equality? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gender_DRR_PolicyBrief_Final_WEB.pdf

Chicago

Le Masson, Dr Virginie, and Lara Langston. How should the new international disaster risk framework address gender equality? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gender_DRR_PolicyBrief_Final_WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Le Masson |first1=Dr Virginie |last2=Langston |first2=Lara |title=How should the new international disaster risk framework address gender equality? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=March 2014 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gender_DRR_PolicyBrief_Final_WEB.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lemasson2014how, author = {Le Masson, Dr Virginie and Langston, Lara}, title = {{How should the new international disaster risk framework address gender equality?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = mar, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gender_DRR_PolicyBrief_Final_WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }