After a disaster, the population undertakes a series of actions aimed at saving and rescuing other people who may be in danger, as well as the gathering of goods considered indispensable to ensure their safety. Numerous studies have indicated that gender is one of the factors that conditions the lived experience of a disaster and, therefore, the actions that people undertake during the emergency. However, previous studies addressing the issue of gender in this respect have focused on how people are evacuated from the danger area, rather than on the rescue of goods. With the aim of contributing to filling this gap, the current article studies the patterns of the reproduction of/alteration in gender roles in the rescue of material goods following the earthquake in Lorca (Spain) in 2011 through the analysis of raw data collected from four focus groups comprising people who survived this catastrophic event. The results demonstrate that during the rescue actions in the disaster the men and women studied behaved to a great extent in line with traditional gender roles, although there were certain actions undertaken that involved a degree of alteration to these roles. 

Reproduction of and alterations in gender roles in the rescue of material goods after the 2011 earthquake in Lorca (Spain)

PurposeThe aim of this article is to reveal the extent to which a disaster situation contributed to fostering leadership in the population affected in terms of gender.Design/methodology/approachFor this article, four focus groups were conducted, all of them composed of people directly involved in the earthquake and tsunami in Chile on February 27, 2010, two of them made up of women and the other two of men.FindingsThe research revealed that male leadership during the response and recovery processes is linked to traditional gender roles although the continuity of this differed between the two phases. With respect to women, they were found to be very active in the response phase in terms of managing emergency aid, a task linked to their reproductive and care roles. Women's leadership also appears in the recovery phase, where the collective dimension of their actions stands out, defying to some extent these roles and highlighting their capacity to adapt to the challenges of the disaster.Originality/valueUnderstanding the leadership that unfolds in the population affected by this disaster during the response and recovery phases has significant potential to inform and influence the development of risk reduction policies that are more effective, egalitarian and resilient.

Gender and leadership in the wake of the 2010 earthquake and tsunami in Chile

Abstract The aim of the study is to conduct a systematic analysis of scientific articles from a social sciences perspective that focus on the role of women as active subjects during an emergency, particularly in terms of evacuation actions in the aftermath of disasters of natural origin. The methology used in the present literature review was designed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines. The databases used were Web of Science and SCOPUS. This systematic review comprises the 25 articles which met our selection criteria out of the 63,852 studies initially found in the search. Although the progressive incorporation of a gender perspective can be seen in the academic study of disasters within the field of social sciences, the scientific production, especially with reference to the emergency phase, remains scant. The current literature reveals the importance of taking into account the knowledge women have, as well as how they behave following a disaster of natural origin. The results of the analysis carried out demonstrate that in making visible how gender roles operate during the early response period in an emergency, especially in relation to the role played by women as active subjects, the traditional notion of rescue is extended. On the basis of this analysis, recommendations are made which can facilitate an approach to disaster risk management that guarantees gender equality in an emergency. 

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How do women face the emergency following a disaster? A PRISMA 2020 systematic review

Catastrophes like earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis, have a devastating effect which extends beyond personal or material losses and also affect social order. At the same time, there is an increasing amount of scientific evidence demonstrating the impact of disasters on gender relations. This article aims to investigate an issue that to date has not been examined in the Spanish context, namely the gender roles undertaken by men and women in the rescue of people after a catastrophe has occurred. To this end, the discourse from four focus groups of people who experienced the 2011 earthquake in Lorca (Spain) has been analysed. The focus groups were recorded, transcribed and codified with the MAXQDA program and afterwards an interpretative analysis was carried out. The results of this study demonstrate that, although, in principle, the danger should be the same, the lived experiences and reactions of men and women faced with a catastrophic event are often different. Men appear as the principal protagonists of the rescue phase and their way of rescuing as the norm. Despite the fact that women also play an active role in saving people, their protective actions are less visible. In part this is because women do not limit their actions to physical rescue, but also make suggestions and recommendations aimed at helping people around them and often remain with those who are rescued. These findings point to the need to broaden the notion of what rescue involves through incorporating the specific actions of women identified. 

Gusakova, Anastasia

Papers

Women and children first? An analysis of gender roles in the rescue of people following the 2011 Lorca earthquake