GENDER AND WATER

Gender refers to the different roles, rights, and responsibilities of men and women and the relations between them. Gender does not simply refer to women or men, but to the way their qualities, behaviours, and identities are determined through the process of socialization.Gender is generally associated with unequal power and access to choices and resources. The different positions of women and men are influenced by historical, religious, economic and cultural realities. These relations and responsibilities can and do change over time.
It has become increasingly accepted that women should play an important role in water management and that this role could be enhanced through the strategy of gender mainstreaming.
The importance of involving both women and men in the management of water and sanitation has been recognized at the global level, starting from the 1977 United Nations Water Conference at Mar del Plata, the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade (1981-90) and the International Conference on Water and the Environment in Dublin (January 1992), which explicitly recognizes the central role of women in the provision, management and safeguarding of water. Reference is also made to the involvement of women in water management in Agenda 21 (chapter 18) and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Moreover, the resolution establishing the International Decade for Action, 'Water for Life' (2005-2015), calls for women's participation and involvement in water-related development efforts.
The differences and inequalities between women and men influence how individuals respond to changes in water resources management. Understanding gender roles, relations, and inequalities can help explain the choices people make and their different options. Involving both women and men in integrated water resources initiatives can increase project effectiveness and efficiency.
Without specific attention to gender issues and initiatives, projects can reinforce inequalities between women and men and even increase gender disparities.
Sources:
Resource guide: Mainstreaming gender in water. UNDP, 2006
Gender, water and sanitation. Policy brief. Interagency Task Force on Gender and Water, 2006
Gender, Water and the MDGs
Reduced time, health, and care-giving burdens from improved water services give women more time for productive endeavours, adult education, empowerment activities, leisure
Convenient access to water and sanitation facilities increase privacy and reduce risk to women and girls of sexual harassment/assault while gathering water
. Higher rates of child survival are a precursor to the demographic transition to lower fertility rates; having fewer children reduces women's household responsibilities and increases their opportunities for personal development.
Source: Health, Dignity and Development: What will it take? Millennium Project Task Force on Water and Sanitation, 2005.
What is "gender mainstreaming"?
Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all spheres so that women and men benefit equally.
Source: Resource guide: Mainstreaming gender in water. UNDP, 2006
Did you know?
Fetching water is part of the gender inequality
In rural Benin, girls ages 6-14 spend an average of one hour a day collecting water compared with 25 minutes for their brothers.
In Malawi, there are large variations in the amount of time allocated for water collection based on seasonal factors, but women consistently spend four to five times longer than men on this task.
Source: Human Development Report 2006. Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. UNDP, 2006.
UN initiatives that are helping to raise the issue...
UN-Water Task Force on Gender and Water At the start of the International Year of Freshwater in 2003, the Interagency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) established an Inter-agency Gender and Water Task Force. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) was invited to serve as Task Manager and a few non-UN entities were welcomed to participate on the Task Force. In 2004, the Task Force became one of UN-Water Task Forces and was requested to take responsibility for the gender component of the International Water for Life Decade, 2005-2015. (http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/gender.html)