Natural disasters, foreign direct investment, and women's rights in developing countries.

We examine the conditions under which women's economic and political status is less vulnerable in the aftermath of natural disasters. We theorize that women in natural disaster-hit countries that receive higher levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) are less susceptible to the gendered impacts of those disasters. Since FDI is vital to post-disaster economic recovery, countries grappling with natural disasters are motivated to uphold women's rights as a strategy to attract FDI.