Emphasizing the importance of having a ‘caring’ trait in the fields of disaster management, disaster recovery, and property and restoration specialist Rachel Gracilla Aurelio builds up the presence of women in disaster management.
Offering more than a hundred percent of her life to her job, Rachel has been in the industry for a few years and is still striving to pursue the field, fulfilling her goal of helping not just her family but also the country.
Noting the time that should be allotted for this job, the specialist disclosed that they are having a hard time finding people to participate with them as it could be draining and require a lot of physical and mental stability. “In this job, you have to have 200% of your life. 99% of it is for the project sites, and 99% is for the reporting,” she said.
The disaster management field has been drawn as a male-dominated job in the country considering that it requires a tough physical appearance, especially for responders during the catastrophe.
Hence, this did not demotivate Rachel but made her push more for the job as she knew that she was knowledgeable in the said field, which is the most important characteristic that an individual should have to boost their confidence.
“Entering a room full of men is a great way for me to start my day because I know what I’m doing. If you know the scope that you’re going to serve, you will always be confident that you can bring not just a solution to the table but also value to each industry,” she said.
As she emphasized, women should not focus on the discrimination that they get when they enter a male-dominated field such as disaster management but should only rely on the things that need to be done to pursue such a job.
“I’m looking forward to more women being enticed to be part of this industry because I believe that women care. If a person cares, more people will be served, and you can also help the country,” she said.
Rachel is included as one of the disaster management teams that corresponded during a huge typhoon in 2022, where she also supported small businesses to be back in the market.