Empowering Women through Water: The Role of Collective Action in Breaking the Cycle of Water Insecurity

By: Sarah Dobsevage, WaterAid America | André Villaça Ramalho, Water Resilience Coalition 

As we celebrate women’s achievements on International Women’s Day, it’s important to reflect on the role that women and girls play in the global water crisis and how they can be supported through collective action.  

Economies are more resilient, productive, and inclusive when they actively support the equal participation of women in all spheres of life. Globally, clean, running water in every household would free up 122 million unpaid workdays annually for women (WaterAid, Mission-critical: Invest in water, sanitation and hygiene for a healthy and green economic recovery), providing more opportunity for education, livelihoods, and family time. 

Around the world, 1.8 billion people collect drinking water from supplies located outside of the home. Further in seven out of ten households, women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection (Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene: Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: special focus on gender). This grueling task also results in missed opportunities for women and girls for learning, generating income, and taking care of their own needs. These water realities often trap women and their families in a cycle of poverty.

Ashatai is a living example of the difference that clean water, hygiene, and sanitation can make in the lives of women and girls. She lives in an agricultural community called Shivani in Maharashtra, India. Women in Shivani used to walk daily to the fields to collect water, sometimes taking multiple trips.  

But Ashatai decided to take action for the sake of everyone’s health in Shivani. She formed a women’s group and convinced the local government to bring piped water to the village and regularly test water quality. Today, she and other community organizers like her are vital partners of the Women + Water Collaborative, in the design, construction and maintenance of new community water systems. Only by listening to women can we ensure gender-responsive programs that address the needs of women and girls. By strengthening women’s leadership and participation in decision-making, water systems are now more sustainable and effective. In addition, they promote gender equality and social justice.   

These actions have created a ripple effect throughout communities in India. Newfound access to clean water, decent toilets and handwashing with soap keep families healthier, which means more time for work, school and family. Households across India have women just like Ashatai who are prepared to champion a new water story for their families, but they require support to deliver on the promise of clean water. 

In October 2023, Water Resilience Coalition member companies Gap Inc., Cargill, and GSK, alongside the Pacific Institute and WaterAid, launched the Women + Water Collaborative. This marks the first time companies from different sectors spanning apparel, biopharma and agriculture have united to address the water crisis in the same communities. This private sector-led partnership is designed to increase access to clean water for hundreds of thousands of women and their families in India’s water-stressed regions, beginning with the Krishna and Godavari basins. 

The Women + Water Collaborative is a model for collective action that places women at the center of water solutions. Women like Ashatai experiencing water insecurity are brought into the design, implementation and monitoring processes of establishing tailored water programs to ensure gender-responsiveness and address specific needs and priorities of women and girls in their communities. Strengthening women’s leadership and participation in the decision-making process is essential. With women actively involved in and accountable for outcomes for their communities, water programs have demonstrated greater sustainability and long-term effectiveness that simultaneously promote gender equality and social justice. 

Companies that participate in collective action recognize that large, multi-stakeholder partnerships unlock greater impact while creating positive change in their supply chains and communities where they operate. The collective action model works because companies across sectors can align to pool resources and expertise behind a shared goal to create impact at scale.  An emphasis on gender inclusivity and equality catalyzes further impact. For women like Ashatai in India, it means reaching more women and their families with clean water and greater opportunities.  The kinds of opportunities that allow us to celebrate women’s achievements, not only on International Women’s Day, but all year round. 

The Women + Water Collaborative is one of a growing number of collective actions that are part of the Water Resilience Coalition’s 2030 ambition to contribute to achieve net positive waster impact in 100 priority basins around the globe. The ambition will contribute to supplying water security for 3 billion people and enable equitable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene for more than 300 million people by 2030. 

For information on Water Resilience Coalition collective actions being established in 100 basins and how your organization can get involved, please contact: André Villaça Ramalho: avramalho@pacinst.org or Katherine Isaf: kisaf@pacinst.org.