By: Alisi Vucago-Waibuta
"The work of women in emergency and disaster management significantly challenges traditional gender roles in the Pacific, where these spaces have historically been dominated by men. This shift in roles challenges traditional gender expectations, proving that women can be just as effective, if not more, when it comes to managing disasters and emergencies.
The involvement of women in this field in Samoa is steadily improving, empowering other women and communities and helping to ensure that everyone's needs, especially those of vulnerable groups are met during emergencies." Kathy Siaosi Asi, Fire Safety Commander specialising in Awareness and Prevention for Samoa’s Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
True resilience cannot be achieved without actively promoting women’s leadership and embedding gender equality into all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), from planning to decision-making to implementation. This has been echoed as a need to be addressed across the Pacific as women in the DRR space share their expectations and thoughts on their involvement and leadership in disaster and emergency response.
Despite years of advocacy and policy frameworks aiming for gender parity, women's participation in Disaster Risk Reduction remains disproportionately low. According to joint research conducted by the United Nations on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction in 2021, DRR continues to be male-dominated across most countries, where legal and policy frameworks ensuring women’s inclusion in leadership remain inadequate.
Major frameworks like the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris Agreement all call for gender-inclusive approaches. Earlier initiatives, including the Hyogo Framework for Action, the Millennium Development Goals, the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), also acknowledged the need for women's representation.
However, progress has been slow, with women still significantly underrepresented in DRR decision-making and leadership. This persistent gap not only undermines global resilience efforts but also highlights the urgent need to accelerate gender equality in this critical space.
In the Pacific, where communities are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters, women's role in disaster and emergency response has never been more critical.
One woman who dares to defy the odds and is leading efforts in her field of work is Kathy Siaosi Asi, the Fire Safety Commander who specialises in awareness and prevention for Samoa’s Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
Her role includes leading educational programmes in over 100 schools and communities across Samoa and being instrumental in disaster response efforts. Her focus on educational programmes includes fire safety, evacuation procedures, and basic first aid training, as well as how to respond during specific disasters like cyclones and floods. She also conducts fire drills, evacuation drills, and awareness sessions that involve local leaders.
According to Ms Asi, her country, Samoa, is vulnerable to several types of natural disasters, including cyclones, floods, earthquakes, and fires. The most common disasters are tropical cyclones, which have caused widespread damage to infrastructure and heavy flooding that has affected both rural and urban areas.
Additionally, the geographical positioning of islands in Samoa on the edge of a subducting Pacific plate is the main reason for recent seismic, tsunami, and volcanic activities in Samoa. This informs Samoa’s emergency management and disaster preparedness efforts. According to a report by the Samoa Observer in 2020, it is normal for Samoa to experience two to three earthquakes every month.
Ms Asi’s work does not come with zero challenges, as she believes the authority faces resource constraints for equipment, the lack of updated data that is relevant to the changing disaster response and recovery needs, and the gender biasness and perception from local communities who believe that traditional roles implies that women are meant to take the back-seat in decision making, even in the workplace.
With her active interactions with the local communities, Ms Asi’s commitment does not let her cons outweigh her dedication to the role. She believes listening and addressing the concerns of women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups ensures that their voices are represented in disaster relief and recovery planning, which is essential in creating inclusive and effective disaster management strategies.
Additionally, Ms Asi said opportunities provided to her through SPC has helped shape her career and empowered her in her role in the emergency and disaster management space, with her involvement in a two-week Training of Trainers, her participation in the Certification IV in Disaster Risk Management Programme (DRM Workshops), and the AFAC24 in Sydney.
Reaffirming the need to involve more marginalised groups into policy and planning in DRR is the Co-chair of Cook Islands National Disability Council (NDC), Mrs Ngatokotoru Tara, who said it was very important to rope in consideration and action plans for disability group in the onset of discussions, especially when driving disaster response interventions.
“I have had to fight hard to be heard and to be visible with the many impairments that we have in the disability groups. We are slowly closing the gap because the minute we are invited through the door to be heard- it is an exciting day for us,” she said. "As donors or development partners, you might want to take our concerns into consideration,but what is important is that you give us a timeline and an action plan. For us, we have been silent too long, we have been invisible too long and even non-existent. It is time that we have a seat at the table when we talk about DRR."
“I am currently attending an incredible workshop, and it’s such a dynamic and enriching learning environment. I rely on my hearing aid, as there’s no interpreter available, but it is still an amazing experience. I love the lively and engaging interactions within the groups, creating vibrant atmosphere that makes the experience even more enjoyable. I am excited to learn more about the various types of disasters and knowing what to do." Veronica George (sitting right), Advocacy and Inclusion officer for NDC Cook Islands, shared her thoughts through sign language.
Mrs Eileen Turare, the Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance (PIEMA) Coordinator, shared how SPC works to support GEDSI through their interventions.
“Embedding the Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) framework in PIEMA’s work is not just a box-ticking exercise, it is about making sure our disaster and emergency response efforts genuinely serve all Pacific communities. We know that women, people with disabilities, and marginalised groups often face the harshest impacts when disasters strike. If we are serious about resilience, we need to actively break down those barriers and ensure everyone has a voice and a seat at the table."
The PIEMA project is working to ensure that disaster and emergency response initiatives are inclusive and equitable. The GEDSI framework provides a structured approach to identifying barriers, mitigating risks, and finding opportunities to enhance equality and inclusiveness throughout PIEMA’s activities. The impacts of disasters are experienced differently by various groups in society, with women, people living in poverty, elderly populations, individuals with disabilities, and persons of diverse SOGIESC often disproportionately affected. Disasters can exacerbate existing inequalities, making it even more vital to integrate GEDSI principles into all aspects of disaster management planning and execution.
PIEMA’s commitment to GEDSI is evident through the development of the “Responding Together: Strategy for Gender Equality in Disaster Management in the Pacific,” published in 2020. PIEMA’s current phase (2023-2028) aims to strengthen this implementation by conducting a comprehensive GEDSI analysis of its programmes and updating the gender strategy to better reflect the evolving needs of communities across the Pacific.
Supported by the New Zealand and Australia governments, the Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance (PIEMA) is at the forefront of emergency and disaster management training across the Pacific. Through its partnerships, PIEMA leads the way in strengthening preparedness and the response to and recovery from emergencies and disasters.