New QUT Business School research has found women want more information from authorities during natural disasters and are more likely than men to respond to official warnings.
In an article published to coincide with International Women's Day, researchers Associate Profesor Amisha Mehta, Professor Lisa Bradley and Sophie Miller analysed two QUT surveys and found differences in how men and women responded to evacuation alerts - and how they prepared for disasters.
One survey particularly focused on small business owners.
The research was funded by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre and aimed to enhance risk and warning communication in partnership with 23 end-users from emergency services and related organisations.
"Evacuation decision-making for women in small business can be encouraged by messaging that emphasises the opportunity to meet others’ expectations, shows that others around them are evacuating, and addresses concerns about food and shelter following evacuation," the authors wrote.
"In the context of bushfires, women reported as needing more information and being more worried about bushfires. In the context of both bushfires and floods, women reported as having less confidence in their ability to respond when these events threatened their home.
"Our survey also showed that when it comes to evacuating from natural disasters in general, women in community settings are motivated by an official recommendation to evacuate, concern for others’ well-being and seeing that others around them are evacuating. Future messaging could be adapted to include these cues."
The research found only one in five small businesses had business continuity plans for natural disasters, and only 37 per cent of people in general had planned what they would do in the event of fire or flood.
The full article can be found on the QUT Business School's Business Insights.
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