Author Reference
Lango, B. (2018). Gender Mainstreaming in
Distribution of Portable Fire Equipment. Benard Lango Disaster
Management Projects Series: Nairobi, Kenya. June 3, 2018.
Gender is an emotive topical issue
not only in Kenya but all around the world due to the subdued influence of one
on the other and the benefits or lack of it that comes with it. The fact that
most workplaces encourages gender – equity in all their operations, this has
not been efficiently done when it comes to the distribution of portable fire
equipment. A recent study through a consortium of insurance students of African
Nazareen University in Kenya found out that most disadvantaged gender is the
female and they tend to rely on their male counter-parts in terms of risk
aversions. These assertions can be proved by studying the composition of the
security department within the workplace where the majority would always be male
while there female counters are employed to complete the equation only when
necessary. The implementation of portable fire equipment in many workplaces have
always assumed that both genders have equal response-ability in terms of
disasters while the essence is that they have the same responsibilities. Response-ability
and responsibilities should not be confused as these two determine the levels
at which risks are usually averted. The availability of fire equipment does not
always mean that there is an ability of the response capacities based on the
workplace staff responsibilities. If this is the case, then the property of
focus is as dead as the two thirds gender rule in Kenya. The various portable
fire equipment that are available for use at the workplaces are mainly fire
extinguishers; resistant blankets; sand buckets and in more modern institutions
the fire beaters; and sweep treks. These equipment must be distributed
appropriately and more so be distributed in consideration to the gender
composition of the location.
It must be coined that the term
gender in disaster management draws cultural based expectations on the roles of
males and females in disaster risk management. Traditionally therefore women
and men are usually associated with different roles in the society. While men
tend to carry the heavy duties and literally heavy items within their
environment and these in essence includes the fire equipment. When a disaster
strike the men bear the greatest responsibilities and more so if it is the
workplace. Gender mainstreaming should be a reality in workplaces that have
deployed heavy portable fire equipment to offer a pluralistic solution that
takes into consideration the diversity among men and women. The most common
fire extinguisher found in most Kenyan workplaces are the 9kg ABC dry chemical,
the 5kg CO2 gas, 9litre water type, 9litre foam type, and to a small extent the
2kg CO2 gas. In a typical workplace the most available would be the 5kg CO2 gas
intertwined with the 9kg dry chemical powder type of which in most cases are
only driven by business. The standard gross weight for the 5kg and 9kg fire
extinguishers are 11.8kg and 14.9kg respectively for CO2 gas and dry chemical
type fire extinguishers. Mainstreaming gender therefore would mean that the
female are majorly disadvantaged in using the above equipment as the weight
would be enormous. The current Kenyan workplaces are yet to take the gender
imbalance into their portable fire equipment installations but more so on the
installation of fire extinguishers.
The Gender Rule
The World Bank in its online GAD
policy framework notes that men and women differ in legal, social and economic
rights and these disparities are found in all workplaces and hampers men and
women in various ways which includes adequate response to emergencies using
portable fire extinguishers. In order therefore to bridge this gap it is
important to reflect these disparities in workplace safety policies, regulations
and even laws being enacted. It should be a policy for every organization and
workplace where there is gender disparity that the distribution of fire
extinguishers takes into consideration the strengths and the weaknesses of the
various genders. There is a general assumption that “what men can do, women can
do better” but this can only be true when one is given a favorable
environmental conditions hence the need to provide equity. The society at large
in the implementation of any project considers groups of people regarded as the
disadvantaged. These groups commonly referred to as the highly vulnerable
groups includes: children; women; the elderly; and the disable. Any risk
mitigation strategy must take into consideration the response-ability of these
groups within any setting. The children, disable, and elderly may not be more
common at the workplaces or places of work but women certainly are. Prudence therefore
directs that where there is gender disparity it is important that the
distribution of the portable fire equipment takes into account these facts.
Many arguments have been fronted on
the idea of gender mainstreaming to ensure equal opportunity for both sexes but
it must not be lost that most businesses are geared towards profit making and where
this is not a possibility then it would easily be ignored. The other fact that
will be fronted would be the existence of risk aversion teams within the
workplace hence no need for gender mainstreaming in distribution of portable
fire equipment within the workplace. To this it should be noted that men and
women are different and emergencies within the workplace does not follow any
pattern neither does it waits for the risk aversion team, therefore risk
response is a collective responsibility. Gender mainstreaming in disaster
management is a reality that the players in the industry must take into
consideration going forward.
Benard
Lango, PhD Projects Management, MA. PPM
An accomplished Project Management researcher
in the field of public safety service delivery specializing
in PMIS use in disaster management,
Author of several books and articles, A trainer in public safety management, a
policy developer in the area of disaster projects management. An Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Audit (EA) Lead Auditor registered
with NEMA Kenya. A Member of the Environmental Institute of Kenya (EIK), A
practicing member of Professional Trainers Association of Kenya (PTAK), A
member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) the regulatory organization of
the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
