Kadin Indonesia for Social Affairs and Disaster Management through the Urban Community for Resilient Action (KUAT) program by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID BHA) collaboratively organized a workshop on “Increasing the Role of Women MSMEs in Disaster Risk Reduction” on June 19-20, 2024 at Neo + Green Savana Hotel, Bogor.

The main objectives of the workshop were:
a) Increase the capacity and knowledge of participants on how to respond to disasters, especially in their business and living environment.
b) Provide participants with knowledge on disaster analysis and how to plan for MSME sustainability post-disaster.
c) Support the establishment of sustainable and disaster-resilient inclusive communities.

Women are still very vulnerable in the face of disasters. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) states that women and children are 14 (fourteen) times more vulnerable during disasters than men (Peterson, 2007). The IUCN findings are referenced by several UN Agencies, including the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and UN Women, which point out that disasters disproportionately and disproportionately affect women and children.

The findings stated that nutrition is one of the aspects that determine an individual's capacity to cope with disasters, where women are more likely to be undernourished due to special needs during pregnancy or breastfeeding, in addition to children who also need more nutrition during their growing years.

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) stated that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are particularly vulnerable to the impact of disasters, which can cause significant disruption to their operations, resulting in loss of income, damage to assets, and in some cases, even permanent closure. The World Bank also presented data showing that MSMEs are less able to bear the costs of climate change than larger companies. These things add to the burden of vulnerability of women as MSME actors in the face of disasters.

The lack of attention to MSMEs as disaster survivors is one of the causes of the long economic recovery in disaster-affected areas. With the vulnerability of women to the impact of disasters and the lack of attention to disaster-affected MSMEs, women MSME managers are among the groups that are highly vulnerable to the impact of disasters. The vulnerability of women MSME actors to disasters requires effective actions and strategies to save the sustainability and improve the quality of life of women. Women's knowledge, capacity and skills in dealing with disasters must be considered and improved.

Pemberdayaan perempuan pelaku UMKM juga harus dilakukan melalui berbagai kegiatan peningkatan kapasitas dan layanan pendukung. Mengedukasi perempuan pelaku UMKM mengenai pengurangan risiko bencana akan memberi kontribusi besar dalam membangun komunitas yang tangguh bencana. Karena secara budaya, perempuan adalah pendidik di keluarga dan pengelola rumah tangga. Terlebih lagi, mengedukasi perempuan pengusaha yang aktif dalam organisasi kemasyarakatan, maka trickle-down effect yang terjadi akan lebih besar, seperti mendidik satu generasi.