According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), multi-stakeholder engagement is a vital element of disaster risk governance. Many international strategies and frameworks have identified women as one of the key stakeholders in any disaster management efforts due to many reasons. Women play a significant role in disaster response and recovery stages specifically at household level. However, their roles in organisational decision-making, particularly in disaster risk governance, is limited due to numerous reasons. This has created equity and equality issues in many communities affected by various hazards.

UN Women for its part affirms that women and girls are disproportionately impacted by disasters and threats, including climate change. Due to gender-specific barriers and inequalities, women experience higher loss of lives and livelihoods during disasters and a longer recovery time. Across the board, from life expectancy to education, housing, health, safety, job security, and nutrition, women and girls are impacted more severely than men. Yet, women are largely excluded from shaping disaster risk reduction and resilience policy, strategies, and programmes.

In Seychelles we are quite fortunate that women have a high level of participation in disaster risk governance and generally in disaster management efforts. For instance, out of a workforce of 19 staff members of the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD), 12 are women, making up 63 percent of the staff body.

In addition, more women possess university degree qualifications; i.e. 4 women are graduates compared to 4 men. This means that 33 percent of the female workforce has a degree compared to 29 percent of the male workforce.

The Disaster Risk Management Act 2014 makes provision for two committees to be established. The first one is the National Disaster Committee and the second is the Seychelles Vulnerability Assessment Committee known as SezVac.

The National Disaster Risk Management Committee comprises persons with high-level capacity to advise the President and the Cabinet, through the Minister for Internal Affairs on matters relating to disaster risk management. Membership of the committee comprises 4 women out of 16 members, making them 25 percent of the membership of the committee.

The Sez Vac for its part has the task of making specific recommendations on the processes and development strategies to reduce vulnerabilities, of informing government of poverty reduction strategies and safety net programming relevant to disaster risk reduction. Membership of the committee comprises 8 women out of 16 members, making them 50 percent of membership of the committee.

The newly adopted National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategic Plan (2021-2030) drafted by an independent consultant, who happens to be a woman, will help disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Seychelles assist government to meet its National Development Strategy (NDS) targets towards 2030 of sustainable development and resilience.

The director general of the DRMD, Robert Ernesta, believes in the empowerment of women. Recruitment and progression opportunities remain open to all, but it is evident that women are making very good use of various opening with the organisation. So far since his appointment in October 2021, there has been the appointment of two women as well as the promotion of two more. Women are also being afforded the opportunity to attain more advanced qualifications that will help them better perform their duties. Currently out of the four posts of head within the operations section that are occupied, two out of four are occupied by women.

DRMD recognises the significant contribution of its female workforce and supports as well as encourages their professional advancement.

Source: Seychelles Nation