This publication brings together the findings from the "Gender in Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM)" project and hopes to serve as a first step for government officials, researchers, and the public. UNDESA decided on researching community-based disaster management after studying a community in Japan post-earthquake and noticing that 85 % of people were self-evacuated or rescued by their neighbours. The paper concludes by arguing for equal access to training and education for the vulnerable populations and women to promote gender and cultural sensitivity for DRR and DRR policies.