Promoting Gender-Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction as Our Human Family Grows Larger

Dec 13, 2022 | Marisa O. Ensor

As 2022 sprints to a close, the world has reached a major milestone. The global population surged past the 8 billion mark in November – that is, 8 billion lives that are at an increasing risk from climate change and its catastrophic impacts. Hundreds of millions are facing hunger and even famine. Record numbers are on the move searching for basic security and relief from hardship, wars, and climate disasters.  Reducing poverty, insecurity, gender inequality, and women’s and girls’ disproportionate vulnerability to disasters must be part of our collective response.

Climate Disasters and Population Growth

Worldwide, the number of disasters affecting human populations has tripled over the last four decades. This trend is expected to continue as the greenhouse gas emissions that worsen these disasters are still increasing. The latest IPCC report projects worse fires, longer droughts, and growing numbers of floods. More hardship is in store for regions already facing resource scarcity due to climate change and conflict. Resource pressure will be especially daunting in African nations, where populations are expected to boom. These are also among the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts.

Furthermore, countries with the highest fertility levels tend to be those with the lowest income per capita. Global population growth has therefore over time become increasingly concentrated among the world’s poorest countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, where some 738 million people already live without adequate food supplies, the population is projected to jump by 95 percent by mid-century, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Disasters, alone or compounded by violent conflict and political unrest, increase the vulnerability of women and girls, and create barriers to accessing reproductive and maternal health services. Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development indicates that 60 percent of preventable maternal deaths take place in settings of conflict, displacement, and environmental disasters. Without access to proper care, crises can increase the risks of sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy, and pregnancy-related complications that can lead to illness and death for mother and child.  The breakdown in social norms and protective structures also increases girls and women’s exposure to gender-based violence (GBV).

More Resilient Women Means More Resilient Societies

There are no natural disasters. Disasters are shaped by the existing sociocultural, economic, and political contexts where hazards occur.  The disaster risk reduction community has long recognized risk as being systemic, with gender inequality constituting a universal axis of social differentiation.  As the 2022 “Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030: Gender Guidance” made clear, disaster risk is gendered. In every context, the vulnerability, exposure, and coping capacities of women, girls, boys, men, and people of diverse gender identities are different.

Gender inequalities, discriminatory norms, and over-burdening roles increase women’s and girls’ exposure and vulnerability to disasters, putting them at higher risk, and weakening the resilience of communities as a whole. Economically, disasters negatively impact everyone, but women are disproportionately disadvantaged. World Bank data confirms that female farmers are often more vulnerable to disasters than their male counterparts. Many lack the security of bank accounts and emergency savings as survival strategies when crises hit. When coupled with inaccessibility to resources and decision-making processes, limited mobility places women where they are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental disasters.

Women must, however, not only be seen as victims of climate disasters, but as active and effective agents and promoters of adaptation and mitigation. Women’s gender-differentiated knowledge of issues such as water harvesting and storage, food preservation and rationing, and natural resource management, and their expertise related to early warnings and disaster response can contribute effectively to enhancing local adaptive capacity and sustaining a community's livelihood. By harnessing local expertise and capitalizing on situational knowledge, women’s empowerment in disaster risk reduction improves resilience overall. It is also worth noting that gender inequities do not always translate into worse disaster outcomes for women. In fact, men sometimes account for more deaths in certain contexts due to their risk-taking behavior and overrepresentation in rescue professions, underscoring the importance of avoiding preconceptions when considering the gender dimensions of disaster risk and resilience.  

Eight Billion Strong Moving Forward

Everywhere, at all times, gender inequality impedes global progress. If continued to be left unaddressed, it will represent an even more serious threat to human wellbeing and development than disasters themselves. It was heartening to see that this year’s International Women's Day and the 66^th session of the Commission for the Status of Women focused on achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change and environmental and disaster risk reduction. Both events did so “in recognition and celebration of the women and girls who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation and response, and to honor their leadership and contribution towards a sustainable future”.

In order to usher in a world in which all 8 billion people can thrive, we must identify and implement inclusive, effective solutions to mitigate our world’s challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, while prioritizing the human rights of all. Improving gender equality is crucial to strengthening nations’ resilience to disasters. It is not just a human rights issue – failing to address it also negates hard-fought development gains and undermines climate action efforts to the detriment of all.

Dr. Marisa O. Ensor is an applied environmental and legal anthropologist currently based at Georgetown University’s Justice and Peace Studies Program. She is also the current Chair of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association’s Gender Interest Group (“EnPAx-GIG”).