woman with clipboard doing needs assessment

Women’s leadership in humanitarian crises

In humanitarian crises, ActionAid works to promote women's leadership, ensuring women are empowered to make decisions about the needs of their community. 

We know that women bring vital skills, resources and experience to humanitarian response. And when crises happen, they are often the first responders, taking risks and playing critical roles in the survival of families and communities.

Women are often responsible for the care and emotional rebuilding of communities in the aftermath of a crisis, and they often have strong local knowledge and links with others in the area where they live, which is a critical resource during humanitarian response.

That's why, in an emergency, ActionAid works to ensure women are empowered to lead the response.

Based on requests from women in countries where we work, we provide women with training on women's rights, leadership skills and disaster preparedness so that they are better equipped to lead their communities, and know their rights in times of crisis.

Learn more about our approach supporting women's leadership during crises. 

Women’s leadership in Kenya

Janet is a tea-picker and organising secretary for the Abogeta West Women’s Network in Kenya. 

Through a three-year partnership project between ActionAid and the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), Janet has received training on human rights and leadership, which she says has helped her support survivors of gender-based violence and challenge harmful practices and discrimination in Meru’s tea-growing areas.

Women are bringing about change. There has been a lot of improvement for women and within the family unit."

Since the partnership started in January 2022, more than 12,000 people have been directly supported by the project.

How we work to advance women’s leadership in emergencies

  • We promote women's engagement as leaders so that their voices are heard directly at all levels of decision-making.
  • We work with women's organisations to promote protection in disasters, including providing safe spaces for women. Safe, inclusive, women-only spaces offer more than just refuge: they can foster women’s leadership, agency, and collective capacity to challenge violence and abuse in times of crisis.
  • Most of our emergency responses include cash grants or livelihood programmes which increase women’s access to resources. Where women control resources, their status and influence in the community increases. 

This approach helps to create long term change in transforming gender relations in communities. By opening the space for women's leadership alongside men, our approach supports women’s empowerment and the transformation of women’s positions in households and communities.

Ysnelle helped save many lives following the earthquake

Fabienne Douce

Women leading emergency response in Haiti

Ysnelle Jean, 36, is a seamstress and mother of four children in Haiti. She’s also a woman first responder, trained by ActionAid to take vital steps to help her community if disaster strikes.

So, when a major 7.2 magnitude earthquake ravaged Haiti on August 14th, 2021, she took action.

Ysnelle checked on her neighbours and visited areas where homes had been flattened by the quake, which has claimed more than 2,000 lives.

The most important thing was to find a shelter for women to protect them. Because we know that they are exposed to sexual violence, especially rape after any disaster.

Even as the aftershocks continued, Ysnelle carried on visiting communities and providing guidance on how to rescue survivors trapped under rubble.

She said the training and first aid equipment she received from ActionAid helped her in her role.

     Ysnelle, 36, an ActionAid Woman First Responder speaks to a local woman Melitées, as she assesses her need after the earthquake in Haiti. Fabienne ​Douce/​ActionAid 

    Page updated 19 February 2026