Currently, the majority of disaster response staff are men. They have a large role to play in creating safer and more supportive work environments for women in disaster response roles — both on the ground and at headquarters.
Last year, ActionAid and CARE International came together to compile a report on what holds women back from disaster response positions. In a two-part series, Devex spoke with the authors of the report to provide advice on how to encourage more female staff in disaster response and why having more women can reduce incidents of sexual assault.
Following allegations of sexual misconduct in Haiti by Oxfam, Save the Children, and staff from other aid organizations, one NGO reported its solution was to hire fewer single men. Allison Burden, head of gender equality at CARE International, responded, “I struggle with that. I would prefer that men are socialized in ways that mean that they act respectfully, in ways that promote safety and equality. I find the assumption that a single man is the problem when referring to the use of prostitutes a bit troublesome.”