Gender, shocks, and resilience

Book excerpt: This brief attempts to unpack the relationship between gender and resilience by reviewing the evidence on men’s and women’s differential exposure to risk and the differential impact of shocks on men and women, and by examining the different types of mechanisms that men and women use to cope with and insure against risk. In reviewing these mechanisms, we assess whether they contribute to building resilience and we suggest gender-sensitive insurance mechanisms that will allow men and women alike to manage and cope with risk and vulnerability.