In 2022 the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL) at the Australian National University and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) came together to discuss how to collaborate to better understand career motivation and barriers among women and men working in disaster risk reduction in the Asia-Pacific region. In particular it was hoped to develop a clear picture of women and men’s workplace experiences, including for example, how they are treated by others, the availability of role models, experiences with discrimination, and the quality of their relationships inside and outside of work. The survey sought to understand the impact that these experiences have on women’s and men’s psychological engagement, including their ambition, leadership aspirations, their sense of fitting in and belonging, their feelings of authenticity or feeling like an imposter; and then in turn, examine how these impact on workplace outcomes including performance, promotion and progression, as well as job satisfaction, health and well-being. The goals of this research are to:
1. Identify enablers and barriers to women’s careers and leadership aspirations in disaster risk reduction (DRR)
2. Explore the ways in which workplace outcomes are different for women and men
3. Understand what predicts these differential outcomes and what opportunities there are to redress them