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Gender Equality in Water Governance Ten Stories of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

The ten stories featured here demonstrate the power of women-led and women-focused multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) for fostering a more inclusive, equal, and water-secure world.

These stories are part of Global Water Partnership (GWP)’s Water ChangeMaker Awards, a global competition which identifies and celebrates the work of groups and organisations that build water and climate resilience. You can explore the inspiring journeys of all 78 ChangeMaker semi-finalists here.

In this multimedia publication you will hear from the people behind the change stories, answering the questions: Why did you decide to get involved with this project, and how do you believe it has impacted gender equality? What were the roles of various stakeholders in this process, and how did you mobilise them? In terms of gender work, what did the inclusion of these stakeholders allow you to achieve which would have been impossible otherwise?

What are multi-stakeholder partnerships?

Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) are collaborative mechanisms that bring together a variety of actors, including NGOs, governments, academia, and businesses, to work on a specific challenge or explore an opportunity together. Examples of MSPs can be found in virtually all sectors, such as education, agriculture, transport, and water management. MSPs can involve cross-sectoral collaboration to enhance social inclusion, and can take various organisational forms, from loose collaborative platforms to close partnerships with official legal standing. MSPs can be rooted within a local community, but can also operate at the national, regional, continental, and even global levels. Benefiting from the strengths and expertise of all partners, a defining aspect of MSPs is that they are greater than the sum of their parts. Since they represent diverse opinions and segments of society, MSPs have the potential to drive consensus-based action towards transformative change.

Gender equality in water governance – why does it matter?

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises the importance of gender equality for the sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Sustainable Development Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, states in its second target that special attention must be paid ‘to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations’ if the goal is to be achieved. In most societies across the globe, women and girls are responsible for gathering water for their households. They have thus been disproportionately affected by the impacts of increasing water scarcity, climate change, and natural disasters. As a result of the marginalisation of women and girls across many societies, and in spite of their unique experiences and valuable perspectives on what is perhaps humanity’s most precious resource, the gender perspective is often absent from decision-making processes, with detrimental results. However, there are a growing number of examples of women as powerful catalysts for positive change in water management policies and practices, helping to ensure a water-secure future for their communities.

How can gender equality in water be strengthened?

GWP has developed a four-area approach to advancing gender equality in water governance. This approach was developed through expert consultation, and is based on decades of evidence collected by GWP and partner institutions on integrated water resources management across the globe. The four key elements that can help an organisation or initiative advance towards gender equal water governance are: institutional leadership and commitment; gender and inclusion analysis that drives change; meaningful and inclusive participation in decision-making and partnerships; and equal access to and control of resources.While each of these areas is important individually, their true strength lies in being carried out together. Verbal commitments on change, without leadership putting money where its mouth is, are worth little. The full potential of these four areas is unlocked when they are implemented as policy at the international, country, and local levels, by government actors and grassroots community groups alike.

How can MSPs contribute to gender action?

Research shows that when policies and interventions work for women and vulnerable groups, they work for everyone. MSPs that involve women and youth in key positions are better at mobilising communities, fostering cooperation, and engaging decision-makers for action. Women-led multi-stakeholder initiatives have, with real success, shaped community demands for the human right to water and sanitation, and have fostered cross-sectoral collaborations promoting water governance change. The following ten stories share practical insights on how to adopt and further promote partnership-based approaches to improving gender equality in the water sector and beyond.

Sudanese youth driven by passion and knowledge to alter water supply and sanitation situations in Sudan

Sudan Youth Parliament for Water (SYPW), Sudan

The Sudan Youth Parliament for Water (SYPW) mobilises young people to transform water supply and sanitation in Sudan. Started in 2015 by seven young people, the SYPW has since grown to include 1,700 members from diverse backgrounds, including university students, farmers, and other young professionals. The SYPW has achieved a women’s participation of 38 percent, led women-centred campaigns, and successfully organised eight International Women’s Day events. Through its inclusive activities and decision-making, the SYPW is positively contributing to the participation of women in Sudan’s water sector.

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Sudan key takeaway: Inclusive community-based discussions contribute to identifying water and sanitation solutions and making women the centre of change

WomanWASH: Innovating and transforming my community from within

PaziFlora NGO & Asociación Ambiental ECOLONIAS, Colombia

The Women WASH initiative advocates for better access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in Las Colonias, an area where many displaced people have resettled due to Colombia’s armed conflict. Women WASH was initiated by PaziFlora NGO together with ECOLONIAS, a local women’s collective dedicated to environmental awareness, waste management, and recycling. With support from Paziflora NGO and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, ECOLONIAS carried out participatory research, revealing deep-rooted gender inequalities, and encouraged women to create new enterprises that now produce flowers, earthworms, and vermicompost. The initiative has empowered women to lead the fight for better sanitary and environmental conditions in their community.

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Colombia key takeaway: Women-based support networks can foster and validate alliances for change

Uhakika wa Maji! Citizen-action, accountability monitoring and advocacy for water and climate security in Africa

Shahidi wa Maji (SwM), Tanzania

Uhakika wa Maji (Water Witness) is a citizen-based advocacy initiative promoting water sustainability, equity, and accountability. Inspired by African civil society movements for accountability in health and education, this initiative was launched in 2012 by Tanzanian organisation Shahidi wa Maji. Grounded in a human rights-based approach, this initiative has trained mashahdi agents for community change on their rights and how to hold decision-makers to account on water and climate security issues. This broad coalition has successfully pushed for a water policy review, opening the possibility for women and girls, men and boys alike to enjoy greater water security in the future.

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Tanzania key takeaway: Partnerships and a human rights-based approach focused on rights-holders and duty-bearers can pave the way for more gender-equal societies

Building low-cost climate-resilient agriculture technology to address water scarcity through water resource management

Bhutan Water Partnership, Bhutan

This Bhutanese initiative aims to build low-cost climate-resilient agreement technology to address what scarcity and foster gender equality in the project. This collaboration among the Bhutan Water Partnership, Nepal’s Centre for Rural Technology, the Wangdue Phodrang Dzongkhag Administration, Rubesa Gewog Administration and communities from Rubesa Gewog; Nyarobi & Nyashe Gyalkha villages, and Phobjikha B.H.U, has initiated the installation of the Hydraulic Ram Pump in their community, a zero-emission technology that supports small-scale agriculture, improve local health and sanitation, and empower women in their involvement in social and economic activities.

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Bhutan key takeaway: Promoting gender equality in the consultation phase paves the way for the meaningful participation of women and youth across all project stages

Jivamritam: A community-based purified drinking water solution

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India

Jivamritam is a community-based initiative conceived at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, which aims to provide purified drinking water solutions in rural India. Driven by the women’s self-help groups Amrita SREE, the initiative unites stakeholders including university staff and students, local government officials, and the grassroots village governance structures of Karayogam and Panchayat groups, to map the challenges faced by communities and promote the uptake of new filtration technologies. The central role of women-led groups has created opportunities for new solutions and more inclusive local water governance structures.

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India key takeaway: Working on water issues must start with tackling traditional gender roles

Involving women in rainwater harvesting

Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo - FUNDE, El Salvador

Led by a local women’s associations in the Jiboa Valley, El Salvador, this project was launched in partnership with GWP Central America, the company Amanco El Salvador and local governments, with the support of Australian Aid and the Young Water Fellowship. One of its main objectives, beyond providing technical solutions for water harvesting, has been to encourage women’s participation in a variety of projects in the domain of resource management, where they have previously been marginalised. Women involved in the project have learned how to install water harvesting systems, and have asserted their own agency in the use of the water gathered in each community.

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El Salvador key takeaway: Women’s organisations can drive private sector engagement and promote the adoption of innovative water solutions

Mothers Parliaments advocate for climate resilient WASH facilities

Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Bangladesh

The Mothers Parliament was established in 2017 with the support from a local NGO, Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP), a partner in the Helvetas Panii Jibon (Water is Life) project, which addresses water-related threats and vulnerabilities, facilitating sustainable and affordable solutions for WASH. Members of the Mothers Parliament received support in developing soft skills around deliberation, evidence-based advocacy, and how to approach different stakeholders, essential for ensuring that women’s voices are heard in discussions of sustainable solutions for WASH and other social issues. One key lesson of the project is that women’s voices can be strengthened if structures and processes that enable them to do so are in place.

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Bangladesh key takeaway: Mothers’ parliaments are an effective platform to bring community demands to policy-makers

Climate Smart Palawan: creating climate resilience in Calamianes group of islands (Busuanga-Coron-Culion)

Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute, Philippines

The Climate Smart Palawan initiative contributes to improving community climate adaptation schemes in the Calamian Islands (Busuanga, Coron, and Culion) of the Philippines. The initiative is the result of a close collaboration between the Provincial Government of Palawan and the Local Government Unit, academia, civil society organisations, church leaders, and local community organisations of farmers, fishermen, and indigenous people, women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Focusing on enhancing climate resilience at the local level, the project has trained women on how to perform climate modelling and successfully advocated for science-based gender inclusive climate adaptation and mitigation action plans.

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Philippines key takeaway: Participatory climate modelling can be a tool for building women-centred partnerships in disaster risk management action

Strengthening climate resilience in the Kafue sub-Basin

Zambia Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, Ministry of National Development Planning, Zambia

SCRiKA is a flagship project of the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, seeking to strengthen rural communities’ capacity to respond to current climate variability and the long-term consequences of climate change in the Kafue sub-basin. The implementation of the SCRiKA project community-driven and relies on strategic partnerships and coalitions mobilising actors from the public sector, private sector, and NGOs. The initiative shows how community engagement at all stages, including women and marginalised groups on an equal footing, can lead to developing new adaptive pathways in agricultural and natural resource management, climate-resilient rural infrastructure, and institutional capacity for planning for climate change.

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Zambia key takeaway: Community-based partnerships that adopt a gender lens can drive forward climate smart socio-economic development

Indigenous communities leading water resilience in the Andes

International Secretariat for Water, Peru

Since 2014, the International Secretariat for Water has been working closely with the Cuchoquesera indigenous community on the headwater of the Cachi River Basin in Peru to support climate-resilient water and sanitation activities. Rooted in principles of meaningful participation and self-determination, the project has helped to establish a new rural indigenous committee responsible for water and environmental conservation for their portion of the basin, and for drinking water and sanitation infrastructure. To avoid duplication and ensure coordinated action, the committee worked together with the Ministry of Housing, the Regional Government, the Provincial Municipality, and the public university of the region. Women play leading positions in these new rural water and sanitation committees, and are therefore at the forefront of enhancing local environmental and water resources management

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Peru key takeaway: Women leaders are role models for more inclusive and gender-equal institutional arrangements

Key messages

There is growing evidence that partnership-based approaches which centre women can significantly advance gender equality in the management of water resources. Our ten stories of MSPs for gender action reveal how women-led and women-centred MSPs can drive change towards sustainable and inclusive water governance and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as summarised in the following points:

It is not sufficient to merely consult women on the water challenges they face; the most effective MSPs are those that put women firmly in the driving seat throughout all phases of a project.
Women’s voices in civil society coalitions tend to be particularly effective when they are part of a comprehensive human rights-based approach.
Identifying and working with strong female role models towards water management goals provides an entry point for women to become leaders in other aspects of society.
Environmental activism and gender work are two sides of the same coin; synergies should be identified wherever possible.
Women-led organisations can be a driving force that helps mainstream community action on the environment.
Efforts should be made to promote women’s entrepreneurship in the water sector, as it contributes to wider gender equality and socio-economic development.

Further work remains to be done on removing the barriers to the meaningful participation of women across diverse social contexts, where women and girls are faced with varying challenges, and water resources are subject to different pressures. All projects must fully commit to undertaking a gender analysis of the local water management situation from the outset of their activity, so that all opportunities for and barriers to women’s participation are identified and addressed. Participatory processes such as multi-stakeholder partnerships, which these ten projects used to advance their pursuit of gender equality and social inclusion, are a verified way of ensuring the sustainability of projects and programmes. MSPs require good understanding of the local dynamics and require time and resource commitment, but as the stories show, there are inspiring models on which to build a future of water security and sanitation for all.

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