The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

Organization has declared, “Gender shapes the social worlds in which natural events occur.” For instance, many Bangladeshi women died in their homes with their chil- dren in a 1991 cyclone because they needed to wait for their husbands to make an evacuation decision. Higher female death rates in an earthquake in Maharashtra, India, were due to women being inside the home while men were in open areas. One report from Bangladesh, accord- ing to the World Health Organization, describes a father who could not rescue both of his children — and chose to release his daughter, rather than his son, saying, “[He] has to carry on the family line.” This is certainly not to say that men are unaffected by disasters. “Both men and women are handicapped by socialization. When men fail to fulfill their ‘perceived’ responsibility by protecting their family, they react in many ways, like an increase in alcoholism and domestic vio- lence,” explains Betty Morrow, Ph.D., a professor emeritus at Florida International University’s International Hur- ricane Center in Miami, Fla. “If there is a definitive gen- der difference in disasters, women are more likely to evac- uate and weigh risk more carefully than men. I can’t tell you how many men I’ve interviewed in FEMA trailers and shelters who said, ‘I wish I’d listened to her.’” Risk Factors Many factors contribute to gender differences in the degree of exposure and social vulnerability to disasters: Less access to help. Essential information and resources in disaster preparedness, mitigation and rehabil- itation are less available to women. These include trans- portation, social networks and influences, and decision- making skills. (Of the billion or so illiterate people around the world, two-thirds are female.) Gender division of labor. Worldwide, women hold (predominantly) underpaid jobs in agriculture (and own just 1 percent of the world’s land). They are more often self-employed and tend to operate within the informal economy. Because the agricultural and informal economy sectors are the most affected by natural disasters, women are over-represented among the unemployed after a nat- ural disaster. F O C U S 44 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 6 Get Your Finances In Line With SDFCU Online You can depend on State Department Federal Credit Union for the ultimate in security and convenience with SDFCU Online banking. This FREE service allows you to access your Credit Union accounts via the Internet anytime, from anywhere in the world. Just go to www.sdfcu.org and click the SDFCU Online logo. You can conduct the following Credit Union business: Transfer funds between accounts Check current account balances View your account history over the last 15 months View check images View and pay your credit card bill online Pay Bills and much more!* See just how easy SDFCU Online is! Visit us at www.sdfcuonline.org and check out the easy demo! If you’re interested in becoming a member of State Department Federal Credit Union, give our Member Service Center a call at 703- 706-5000 , or outside the D.C. Metro area at 800-296-8882 . You can also email us at sdfcu@sdfcu.org . SDFCU Online puts us at your service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever you need us the most. Sign up today! *The Bill Payer service is available at no charge for Capital Club members. Otherwise, there is a low monthly fee of $3.95 for unlimited transactions.