Preserving family and community: women's voices from the Christchurch earthquakes

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight and report on women's work during and after the Christchurch earthquakes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports findings of some of a large number of life history interviews conducted with Christchurch women in 2012.

Findings

Three specific sets of roles for women are identified, arising from the interviews that were undertaken. The first role is in keeping families together, meeting a range of diverse family needs and supporting all family members. The second role is in working with, and leading, post-quake services to offer disaster relief. Finally, a third role is in working in a range of ways to engage with and beautify communities and improve their lives.

Practical implications

Women's work is often unseen in the post-earthquake environment. But this lack of visibility should not imply that women are not active in earthquake recovery.

Originality/value

As far as the authors are aware, this is the first life history study of women undertaken to understand the impact of the earthquakes on their lives.

Citation

Gordon, L. (2013), "Preserving family and community: women's voices from the Christchurch earthquakes", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 415-424. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-10-2013-0175