When disaster strikes, rescuers get orders to save women and children first.
But they are 14 times more likely to die than men in catastrophes such as earthquakes, tsunamis and floods.
Four in five victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were female and Cyclone Nargis, in Burma, four years ago, killed twice as many women as men.
Inferior physical strength is one factor to blame, but there are many reasons.
‘In some cultures, boys are routinely taught how to swim but girls aren’t,’ said Dr Kate Crowley, of aid agency CAFOD. A lack of education also causes problems.
‘Women are less likely to be able to read information about what to do during an emergency,’ said Dr Crowley.
The United Nations hopes its International Day for Disaster Reduction, held tomorrow, will put pressure on political leaders to tackle the disparity.
Issues it will highlight include better protection for women from sexual assaults, which tend to rise in the aftermath of disasters.
Giving women high-profile community roles in fire and flood-threatened regions will also be encouraged.
‘We can’t stop hazards but we can make sure women have a say in how communities plan for them,’ said Dr Crowley.
Some 200million people each year have their lives disrupted by disasters.Natural disasters have affected 4.4billion people in the last 20 years – 64 per cent of the world’s population.