*2.2. Gender Gaps in Social Protection—Disaster Impacts*

The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2018) states that women have less access to social security during their working lives compared to men because of the gendered labour division in the world and, for the purposes of this study, particularly in the Caribbean. Women are less covered by pensions in Dominica and other Caribbean countries and tend to hold vulnerable employment. According to ECLAC et al. (2005), the gendered labour division and limited access to productive resources exacerbate disaster situations. They add that women's higher unemployment rates post-disaster can be linked to new economic opportunities that favour the historically male-dominated construction sector and infrastructure rebuilding. Furthermore, female-headed households tend to be more vulnerable to the impact of disasters as they tend to be poorer, especially in rural areas (ILO 2018). Poverty puts the female-headed households at a severe disadvantage as it reduces their capacity to decrease the shocks. Caribbean women have less access to land, productive resources and credit compared to men (CDB 2015).
