Brenda D. Phillips, Ph.D.

1
Blending Theory and Practice

• Brenda D. Phillips, Ph.D.
• Oklahoma State University
• Fire Emergency Management Program
• Center for the Study of Disasters and Extreme
  Events

2
Evidence-Based Best Practices

• Why use theory?

• Why tie it to practice?

• To sensitize
• To generate insights
• To explain
• To predict

• To identify holes in planning, preparedness,
  response
• To say out loud I never thought of that before
• To identify a fuller range of those at risk
• To increase stakeholder involvement
• To build capacity

3
Dare to use the F wordfeminist!

• A feminist is concerned with differential risks
  that people experience because of gender..
• And links those gender-based risks to poverty,
  income, disability, development status,
  sexuality.
• Women in developing nations at risk of assault
  during disaster relief efforts girls subjected
  to human trafficking during massive disasters.
• Male-dominated professions with higher risk of
  exposure police, firefighters, military.
• Traditional roles that compel men and women to
  behave in gender-constrained ways with perilous
  consequences.
• Lack of access to lgbt partners, property,
  resource during disaster.

4
A sampling of feminist thinking

• Liberal Feminism
• A concern with rights, justice, equal
  opportunity.
• Multi-racial feminism
• A concern with exclusion of women of color by
  mainstream feminists, looks at the intersection
  of gender, race, ethnicity, income.
• Feminist political-ecology theory
• A concern with gender and environmental justice.
  What is the impact of environmental devastation
  on the bodies, lives and futures of women and
  girls?

5
Liberal Feminism

• Identify the practical needs of women and
  children throughout the disaster event and how
  institutional arrangements can adapt to their
  needs child care, domestic violence,
  employment, housing access.
• Recruit and retain women staff in disaster
  recovery organizations, with particular attention
  paid to involving women from disaster-vulnerable
  populations and locations.
• Train and educate disaster recovery staff and
  volunteers in working with women of various
  educational, income, age and disability levels.
• Target women-owned businesses and
  female-dominated nonprofits in business recovery
  and economic development programs.

6
Multi-Racial Feminist Theory

• Involve organizations that empower women of color
  to participate in the recovery planning and
  implementation processes and pay them for their
  contributions.
• Build social networks between womens groups
  involving women of color in recovery activities
  including funding initiatives and programs that
  pay for and/or reimburse staff and volunteer
  labor.
• Facilitate the active participation of women from
  underrepresented groups in disaster recovery
  planning.
• Target women leaders from diverse cultural groups
  for leadership positions in recovery staff and
  voluntary organizations.

7
Feminist political ecology theory

• Conduct risk assessment for women and girls when
  environmental disasters occur.
• Involve women environmental leaders in planning
  mitigation activities for the full range of
  recovery needs in housing, environment,
  infrastructure, and businesses.
• Increase networking between disaster
  organizations and women involved in environmental
  justice and sustainable development
  organizations.
• Integrate women involved in local health and
  safety issues, including technological disasters
  and hazardous materials, for long-term research
  on the effects of these substances for women and
  children.

8
Gender and Disaster Networkwww.gdnonline.org

• The Gender and Disaster Network is an educational
  project initiated by women and men interested in
  gender relations in disaster contexts. It emerged
  during the July 1997 Natural Hazards Center
  workshop in Denver, Colorado.
• Resources available for you
• A network of scholars and practitioners who
  really care.
• Downloadable materials, handouts, workbooks,
  reports.
• A searchable sourcebook
• List serve.
• Events, jobs, and more.

9
Suggested Resources

• Elaine Enarson and Brenda Phillips. 2008.
  Invitation to a new Feminist Disaster Sociology
  integrating feminist theory and methods. Pp.
  41-74 in Women and Disasters from theory to
  practice, ed. B. Phillips and B.H. Morrow.
• Gender and Disaster Network sample resources
• Vulnerability analysis tools, http//www.gdnonline
  .org/sourcebook/chapt/sec_view.php?id2sectid2.2
  .
• Gender based violence tools and links,
  http//www.gdnonline.org/sourcebook/chapt/doc_view
  .php?id2docid41
• Practice guides and checklists,
  http//www.gdnonline.org/sourcebook/chapt/sec_view
  .php?id2sectid2.3