This RGA-POW provides information about the different needs, capacities and aspirations of women – with
a focus on the structural and relational barriers to, and opportunities for women’s leadership and public
participation during and after emergencies, as well as relevant information on the local context from previous
studies (e.g. post-distribution monitoring reports, rapid gender analyses, etc.).
In its pilot run in the Philippines, Women Lead in Emergencies (WLIE) directly engaged 601 women organized into 29 women’s groups in 5 provinces, 10 municipalities, 27 barangays from April to December 2020. WLIE funded 28 women-led, women-designed, and women-implemented action plans in rural barangays, indigenous communities, and evacuation shelters so that women can influence decisions about their own lives.
When women’s voices are not heard, women’s rights and needs are often not adequately met, and emergency response can reinforce gender inequality. Women’s equal voice, leadership, and participation challenges and transforms the root causes of poverty and injustice. Globally, it is part of a larger Women Lead in Emergencies initiative present in Colombia, Tonga, Uganda, and Niger.
CARE’s analysis shows that COVID-19 outbreaks in development or humanitarian contexts could disproportionately affect women and girls in a number of ways, including adverse effects on their education, food security and nutrition, health, livelihoods, and protection. Even after the COVID outbreak has been contained, women and girls may continue to suffer from ill-effects for years to come.
Founded in 1945, CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) is a leading global humanitarian and international development organization dedicated to defending dignity and eradicating poverty. CARE enables lasting change by strengthening the capacity of communities and households through social, political and economic opportunities, delivering relief in emergencies, influencing policy decisions, and addressing discrimination. For 75 years, CARE has led the way to a better life for the world’s most vulnerable people across 100 countries and 70 million people, each year.
