Gender inclusive planning for disasters: Strategic planning to build adaptive capacity and resilience

Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner; Carmen Arias; Abigail Schmitt

doi:10.5055/jem.0895

Authors

Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2562-2055
Carmen Arias, MA
Abigail Schmitt, MPA https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6608-1463

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0895

Keywords:

disaster preparedness, adaptive capacity, resilience, vulnerability, gender, empowerment, sustainable development, Peru

Abstract

How can gender and empowerment drive the development of a community’s adaptive capacity to disasters? Disaster plans can be used to allocate resources, instill processes, and reach goals; however, once in place, these plans can also be a determining factor to either empower or exclude. One of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 5, targets gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls. Under the lens of SDG 5, working toward this goal of equality and empowerment as part of disaster preparedness will improve the capacity of a community to respond and recover, ultimately reducing vulnerability for everyone. Intentionally building disaster management plans toward gender equality can be one of the key strategies that improves community resilience for all. In order to identify challenges and opportunities linking policy and practice, this paper shares a case study of disaster planning in Peru to understand mitigation strategies and explore gender equality as a tool to expand adaptive capacity.

Author Biographies

Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA

Senior Lecturer, Cornell University, Brooks School of Public Policy, Ithaca, New York

Carmen Arias, MA

Global Master of Arts Program Alumna, Lima, Peru

Abigail Schmitt, MPA

Cornell University, Brooks School of Public Policy, Ithaca, New York

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