Surge capacity is defined as the ability to scale-up (and down) resources smoothly and quickly, including getting the right people to the right places doing the right things in the shortest amount of time possible. The majority of humanitarian responses rely heavily on good surge practice and having people quickly in place to meet the immediate needs of affected populations. This paper by Sonya Ruparel and Clare Bleasdal on behalf of ActionAid International and Kathleen O’Brien on behalf of CARE Internation (2017), asserts that the ‘right people’ means a gender balance in our surge practice and therefore more women in surge roles.