Gender and leadership in the wake of the 2010 earthquake and tsunami in Chile

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this article is to reveal the extent to which a disaster situation contributed to fostering leadership in the population affected in terms of gender.Design/methodology/approachFor this article, four focus groups were conducted, all of them composed of people directly involved in the earthquake and tsunami in Chile on February 27, 2010, two of them made up of women and the other two of men.FindingsThe research revealed that male leadership during the response and recovery processes is linked to traditional gender roles although the continuity of this differed between the two phases. With respect to women, they were found to be very active in the response phase in terms of managing emergency aid, a task linked to their reproductive and care roles. Women's leadership also appears in the recovery phase, where the collective dimension of their actions stands out, defying to some extent these roles and highlighting their capacity to adapt to the challenges of the disaster.Originality/valueUnderstanding the leadership that unfolds in the population affected by this disaster during the response and recovery phases has significant potential to inform and influence the development of risk reduction policies that are more effective, egalitarian and resilient.