This document presents the Gender and Disaster Taskforce of Victoria, Australia charged with setting firm goals including tackling the dearth of women in leadership positions within emergency services organisations and changing a culture that rewards men for risky behaviour to one that supports both men and women.
The benefits of focusing on gender issues in emergency management and disaster include:
- improved functioning of communities before, during and after fires and emergencies;
- improved functioning of fire and emergency agencies, including increased support for employees and volunteers;
- greater accuracy in emergency management doctrine by applying a gender lens to policies, plans, procedures and training manuals;
- reduced violence, particularly against women and children by men;
- improved men’s health including reductions in substance abuse, depression and suicide;
- increased opportunities and conditions for women in fire and emergency organisations and disaster-affected communities;
- better sustaining of livelihoods (including employment) after disasters;
- widespread understanding of gender and disaster issues, underpinned by evidence.
Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Volume 30, Issue 4, October 2015, Pages 26-29. The Australian Journal of Emergency Management by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.
