Publication: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Disaster Recovery
Loading...
Published
2020
ISSN
Date
2020-05-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
It is often assumed that all members of a population experience the impact of disasters in the same way. In the pre-disaster context, women’s and girls’ unequal access to social, political, and economic resources influences their access to post-disaster assistance and compensation for damage and losses. While the post-disaster context presents a host of challenges for women, it is important to recognize that women are not just victims of disasters. The strength of post-disaster recovery lies with how well it responds to the needs of both women and men. This guidance note aims to provide action-oriented guidance to local and national government officials and key decision makers who face post-disaster challenges and to assist them in incorporating gender-responsive recovery and reconstruction efforts across all sectors through robust gender assessments that lead to concrete needs identification and gender-specific recovery strategies and frameworks. Implementation of such actions will facilitate both a more resilient, sustainable recovery, and advances in reducing gender inequality. The note addresses the different challenges that women face in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction caused by underlying issues of inequality and marginalization. The note provides guidance on how to turn a post-disaster situation into an opportunity to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment, with a focus on building back better, as the aftermath of a disaster can present opportunities for new and more progressive gender roles and relationships to emerge. The guidance note is structured around three key areas: identifying and prioritizing gender-specific recovery needs; protecting women and men from physical and psychosocial harm; and planning for gender-responsive recovery in the disaster recovery framework and empowering women for sustainable and resilient recovery. The final section of the paper provides a long-term outlook on strengthening gender responsive recovery systems.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2020. Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Disaster Recovery. Disaster Recovery Guidance Series;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33684 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication A Call to Dignity : How Indonesia's Women-Headed Household Empowerment Program (PEKKA) is Transforming Lives and Changing Development Paradigms(Washington, DC, 2012)Launched in 2001 in response to the plight of a faction of poor women - the widows of the conflict in Aceh Province - the Women-Headed Household Empowerment Program (PEKKA) has mushroomed into a community-driven phenomenon across eight provinces that shows all signs of continued, rapid growth. Emphasizing vision, capacity building, networking, and advocacy for those at the lowest end of the social scale - poor single women heads of households - the PEKKA spark has become a blaze that seemed ready to ignite a national movement. A program that helps the individuals that most aid programs pass over - widows and single women household heads, PEKKA also seeks to embolden poor Indonesian women to take charge of their lives and engage in the development cycle as a cooperative bloc.lt;BRgt;Publication More than Mainstreaming : Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women through Post-Disaster Reconstruction(World Bank, Jakarta, 2012-12)The Multi Donor Fund for Aceh and Nias (MDF) and the Java Reconstruction Fund (JRF) have played significant roles in the remarkable recovery of Aceh, Nias and Java, following some of the worst disasters in Indonesia in recent years. The MDF and the JRF, which is patterned after it, are each considered a highly successful model for post-disaster reconstruction. This paper presents lessons from the MDF and JRF's efforts to facilitate women's empowerment and gender equality during the reconstruction process. The reconstruction process presented opportunity to address gender issues and other social inequalities. Enhancing the role of women under the MDF and JRF programs saw significant results, such as improved and sustained outcomes in housing and infrastructure, faster economic and livelihood recovery and increased productivity, strengthening of women's legal rights, more representative decision making and enhanced resilience for women and communities.Publication Making Women's Voices Count(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-10)The countries of East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) are among the most vulnerable in the world to the physical, social, and economic effects of natural disasters. Disaster impacts are not distributed uniformly within a population. Due to existing socio-economic conditions, cultural beliefs and traditional practices, women and men are affected differently. In many cases, the mortality rates for women in the aftermath of a disaster are much higher than those of men. For example, women represented an estimated 61 percent of fatalities in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, 70 percent after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Banda Aceh, and 91 percent after Cyclone Gorky in Bangladesh in 1991. Failure to consider the different impact disaster have on women and men are likely to lead to overlooking the true costs of disasters and making disaster risk management (DRM) support less effective. Gender-blind responses can also reinforce, perpetuate and increase existing gender inequalities, making bad situations worse for women and other vulnerable groups. To make DRM effective, therefore, it is essential that both women and men's voices and needs are integrated on equal terms men in the design and implementation of DRM programs. To address key issues and bottlenecks for mainstreaming gender issues into disaster risk management projects; and to help teams design and implement gender dimensions into disaster risk management work, the infrastructure and social development groups of the World Bank's Sustainable Development Department in the East Asia and Pacific region have jointly produced a set of operationally relevant guidance notes for World Bank staff, clients and development partners. Grounded in extensive field work in Lao PDR and Vietnam, and drawing on the significant amount of material already available, these notes aim to condense a number of complex issues and themes to provide 'first stop' practical information.Publication The Role of Men in the Economic and Social Development of Women : Implications for Gender Equality(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-01)This paper is a critical review of the literature on the issue of how male behavior affects female outcomes in the promotion of gender equality. It employs the family as the main unit of analysis because a large part of gender interactions occurs within this institution. This survey first summarizes recent studies on the distribution of power within the family and identifies several factors that have altered the bargaining position of men and women over the last decades. It then reviews empirical work on the contribution of men, as fathers and husbands, to the health and socioeconomic outcomes of women in both developed and developing countries. Finally, it discusses a set of economic policies that have intentionally or unintentionally affected men's attitudes and behaviors. The main implication is that policies meant to achieve gender equality should focus on men rather than exclusively target women.Publication Unleashing the Potential of Ethiopian Women : Trends and Options for Economic Empowerment(Washington, DC, 2009-06)This report aims to update knowledge of gender disparities in Ethiopia using the latest household survey data. The aim of this analysis is to support ongoing efforts to implement Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) vision. The significant progress in addressing key dimensions of gender disparities such as education shown in this report as well as in the recent annual progress report on the implementation of PASDEP in 2006-2007 suggests that current policy directions are proving effective. At the same time this report highlights the need to complement the existing emphasis on broad based interventions with additional targeted interventions which might address the specific constraints experienced by some groups. Further, based on the evidence from a few detailed evaluations of some existing programs, the study highlights how policy making in this area should include more emphasis on considerations of effective implementation and monitoring. This report is structured as follows. Chapter two presents a set of stylized facts on gender disparities in Ethiopia, including both trends over the last decade and current comparisons between Ethiopia and other countries. Chapter three looks in greater detail at the main drivers of gender disparities, focusing on factor markets. Chapter four looks at the economic pay-offs of decreasing gender inequality. Chapter five identifies a few priority areas for policy intervention.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The Container Port Performance Index 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-18)The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) measures the time container ships spend in port, making it an important point of reference for stakeholders in the global economy. These stakeholders include port authorities and operators, national governments, supranational organizations, development agencies, and other public and private players in trade and logistics. The index highlights where vessel time in container ports could be improved. Streamlining these processes would benefit all parties involved, including shipping lines, national governments, and consumers. This fourth edition of the CPPI relies on data from 405 container ports with at least 24 container ship port calls in the calendar year 2023. As in earlier editions of the CPPI, the ranking employs two different methodological approaches: an administrative (technical) approach and a statistical approach (using matrix factorization). Combining these two approaches ensures that the overall ranking of container ports reflects actual port performance as closely as possible while also being statistically robust. The CPPI methodology assesses the sequential steps of a container ship port call. ‘Total port hours’ refers to the total time elapsed from the moment a ship arrives at the port until the vessel leaves the berth after completing its cargo operations. The CPPI uses time as an indicator because time is very important to shipping lines, ports, and the entire logistics chain. However, time, as captured by the CPPI, is not the only way to measure port efficiency, so it does not tell the entire story of a port’s performance. Factors that can influence the time vessels spend in ports can be location-specific and under the port’s control (endogenous) or external and beyond the control of the port (exogenous). The CPPI measures time spent in container ports, strictly based on quantitative data only, which do not reveal the underlying factors or root causes of extended port times. A detailed port-specific diagnostic would be required to assess the contribution of underlying factors to the time a vessel spends in port. A very low ranking or a significant change in ranking may warrant special attention, for which the World Bank generally recommends a detailed diagnostic.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.