This study aims to advance the understanding of women’s roles in navigating crises through a systematic literature review. In a global context increasingly shaped by complex disruptions and rising attention to gender diversity, there is an urgent need to map and critically assess how women influence, embody and are affected by crisis dynamics.
The review follows the SPAR-4-SLR protocol. The quality of the resulting 31 articles was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. Descriptive analysis was used to visualize the evolution of the topic, while thematic analysis uncovered recurring patterns at the intersection of gender and crisis.
This analysis identifies three core areas, organized under the acronym AIR: Authority, Infrastructure and Reconfiguration. Women emerge as figures of authority (A), embedded in governance structures; as infrastructures (I) of societal containment, sustaining the social and economic fabric; and as agents of reconfiguration (R), implementing practices that challenge dominant logics. This categorization shows how women are constrained or empowered during crises.
This study offers a critical overview of fragmented literature on gender and crisis through the AIR framework. It identifies research avenues for each category and highlights two cross-cutting limitations that open additional paths for future research: First, crises are often treated as a broad, catch-all construct, overlooking their specific nature. Second, greater efforts are needed to generate knowledge that does not default to male leadership as the normative reference.
