This article elaborates on how concerns regarding gender in community-based disaster risk management are shaped through interaction between local agents of development and communities in Bangladesh. By drawing from the experience of women and focusing on the functioning of local agents of development during the flood of 2004, the author aims to assess the gaps between the primary concerns of women and those taken up in the risk-reduction action, to see whether, why, and when they have widened or been bridged. The research findings suggest that relying on the ‘whole community approach’ is not enough, it is also important to adopt a ‘target group approach’ to develop women’s leadership.