Woman Leadership in DRR

The international community has recognised the need for a strong focus on gender, women’s rights and leadership in disaster risk reduction as an essential condition to achieve effective, sustainable and transformative resilience to disaster risk. Gender-responsive DRR requires analysing and accounting for the needs, opportunities, roles and relationships of women, men, boys and girls formed by gender norms within a given context. Gender inequalities often increase the vulnerability of women and girls because they limit their access to information, resources and decision making. Recognizing and committing to a strong focus on gender in DRR and ensuring women’s leadership and contribution to disaster risk policy, programming and governance is therefore critical to achieving the ambitious Sendai Framework targets. This is especially relevant to achieving Target (e) through the active engagement of women in developing, implementing and monitoring inclusive national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020.

Moderator:

Ms. Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland

Opening Remarks:

Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

Ms. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia

Speakers:

Ms. Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank

Ms. Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs African Union

Mr. Saber Hossain, Member of Parliament Bangladesh

Ms. Dolores Devesi, Country Director OXFAM Solomon Islands

Ms. Mami Mizutori, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDRR