Work

Contemporary disasters may not kill more women than men: an empirical inquiry into sex‐differentiated fatalities in the twenty‐first century

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study investigates the claim that women are disproportionately more likely to die in disasters by reviewing existing data sources and compiling new datasets on sex-differentiated disaster fatalities in the twenty-first century. The analysis is structured by disaster type, covering geophysical, meteorological, climatological, hydrological, and biological hazards, as well as broader national-level patterns based on global databases. It examines high-impact events across these disaster types and validates sex-disaggregated fatality patterns by integrating and assessing multiple data sources and demographic proxies. The findings do not support the widely cited claim of consistently higher female mortality. Instead, sex-disaggregated data remain very limited, and the evidence is largely inconclusive, except for biological disasters where male fatalities are consistently higher. Rather than assuming disproportionate effects in advance, sex-specific patterns should be assessed empirically. The study recommends mandatory, systematic reporting of gender-disaggregated fatalities and greater attention to differences in gender-based vulnerabilities across disaster types and contexts.

Source: Disasters

DOI: 10.1111/disa.70053

Author: Olivier Rubin

Institution: Roskilde University

Language: English

Topic: Disaster Management and Resilience

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,730