Geneva, Switzerland (Aug. 19, 2010) – In Swat Valley, Pakistan, a 48-year-old aid worker named Fazilat is doing what the majority of other aid workers in her area can’t do: providing health care to women. In societies where religion or tradition dictate that women can only speak to or be assisted by other women, female aid workers are a critical element of any response team.

“Without women, we can’t help women,” said Jennifer Rowell, Advocacy Coordinator for CARE Afghanistan. “After the earthquake in Afghanistan this year, three members of our emergency team were Afghan women who volunteered. We needed women on the team, or we wouldn’t have been able to talk to women affected by the earthquake. It was incredibly brave of them to go into an unknown place and break the boundaries of what is considered normal for women in Afghan society.”

Women are needed in order for aid groups like CARE to meet the needs of all community members after a disaster: men, women and children. And in most disasters, more than 70 percent of people worst affected are women and children.

“In many societies, especially in parts of Asia, if we ask a group of people their opinion, the men will speak, and the women will stay silent – which means you’ll miss the views of half the population. But if a female aid worker talks to the women separately, they’ll quite openly tell you their needs,” said Rowell.

The risks of not seeking the views of women are clear. For example, a group of men will tell you that the best place for a tsunami escape route is from the fields, where the men work – but women would say that it’s from homes or schools, where the women and children are. Building latrines in a secluded spot without proper lighting or locked doors increases the risk of rape for women and girls. Not having women on a health team means some pregnant women will not seek medical care, putting them and their babies at risk; a victim of rape is also less likely to seek counselling or help from a male doctor.

But just as it is crucial to have women on emergency teams, aid agencies face challenges in recruiting more women, both in the West and the countries where we work: traditional opposition to women working outside the home, women leaving the workplace after having children, not being able to travel because of family commitments, the danger of working in war zones or disaster areas, or even threats from militant groups who don’t want to see women working at all.

In CARE’s headquarters, the percentage of women is as high as 70 percent. But in countries where it is less common for women to be in the work force – let alone in a profession like emergency work that is seen as male-dominated – percentages of female staff drop to less than one-third.

“To encourage more women to work in emergency zones we have to continue to think and act creatively,” said Sally Austin, Head of Emergency Operations for CARE International. “It is critical that we have strong female managers and leaders acting as role models, that we provide childcare support at our offices, that we recognise and work with cultural issues, that we respect working hours, and that we work with our male staff and communities around the world to ensure that they recognise and appreciate the value of women within the workplace – giving support and encouragement to our female staff is key to keeping them and also encourages more women to join.”

In more than 65 years of emergency work, CARE’s experience shows that a woman’s achievements yield dramatic benefits for her entire family in improved health, education and economic development. Increasing the gender balance on emergency response teams will only make those benefits stronger.

In December 2008, the General Assembly determined that World Humanitarian Day should be marked on 19 August every year to “contribute to increasing public awareness about humanitarian work and the importance of international cooperation, and to commemorate all humanitarian and United Nations and associated personnel who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause, and those who have lost their lives in the course of duty.” www.worldhumanitarianday.info