This training event will focus on two aspects of gender responsiveness to help countries better prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters:
A. Gender responsive disaster preparedness and recovery
The session will present the findings of the review of gender-responsive disaster preparedness and recovery in nine Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. The review’s key findings reveal that women face inequalities in all aspects of their lives, human capital endowments, economic opportunities, and voice and agency. Higher unemployment rates, access to fewer economic opportunities, lower wages, vulnerable employment, and insufficient social support systems result in women’s limited access to safety nets compared to men. These inequalities result in more devastating impacts of disasters on women. At the same time, the review shows that women, as well as other disadvantaged groups, are not fully integrated into DRM and climate change efforts. The session will end with recommendations on improving the gender responsiveness of DRM policies.
B. Budgeting for gender equality
This session will introduce gender or equality budgeting. Gender budgeting is grounded in the understanding that public budgeting decisions and systems affect the economic and social outcomes for men and women, young and elderly, and people with disabilities. Improvements in gender equality are considered integral to a country’s development objectives, and they require adequate budget allocations and a strong Public Financing Management system to ensure those allocations are made and implemented as planned. It will outline a variety of ways on how countries can integrate gender throughout in the budget system and processes, including budget planning, execution, reporting, public procurement, auditing, and legislative scrutiny. The session will particularly focus on budget policies aiming to address gender gaps in disaster risk management. Global experience in making budget policies more gender aware and socially inclusive will be presented.
