Water and Women
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 for Clean Water and Sanitation, as well as SDG 5 on Gender Equality needs a holistic and systematic approach. This includes understanding the workforce behind the water resources and WASH systems sector, as skill shortages continue to affect the lack of progress on these SDGs. Data reveals that women only make up 21% of jobs in water utilities (1) and are under-represented in terms of participation at all levels in the sector (2). Visible and invisible barriers continue to hinder women to engage, develop, and fulfill their careers. This means that not all potential contributors are engaged, which leads to negative impacts, such as missing out on diverse thinking, creative solutions, and the improvement of overall sector performance. Therefore, it is necessary to advocate and work towards a strong, gender-equitable sector for water resources and WASH systems.
2 Taking Stock of Progress Towards Gender Equality in the Water Domain (2021)
Stronger Together! Coalition
The Stronger Together! Coalition (ST!) was established in 2022 to unite a wide range of regional and global women’s networks and organizations committed to empowering professional women in the water resources and WASH systems sector. It works to bring together Women’s Networks in this sector (women-led and women-focused professional networks) with the support of Allies - like-minded partners from civil society, sector federations, governmental agencies, multilateral and development cooperation entities, and professional associations with regional and global focus. Together those within the Coalition focus on empowering women, fostering collaboration, and advocate for gender equality.
The Stronger Together! Coalition aims to:
Our mission is to unite like-minded networks and organizations with the ultimate goal of empowering women professionals working on challenges related to water resources and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) systems to be change-makers and leaders globally, regionally, and locally.
Our vision is two-fold:
1) Nothing about us without us. Women professionals contribute to key discussions, processes, and decisions and develop their professional profile as (future) water leaders.
2) Strengthening women globally. Women professionals engage in mentoring and peer learning that fosters collaboration, enhancing their professional profiles and providing critical support throughout their careers.
Activities
The Coalition empowers women directly through activities organized by ST! Women’s Networks and Allies and advocates for women professionals in global forums to raise awareness of barriers to gender equality within the sector and to encourage finding solutions to overcome these barriers on all levels.
The Coalition works to strengthen ST! Women’s Networks to help them be more sustainable and impactful for their members.
Allies and Members
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