"Challenging social norms and stereotypes is a priority, particularly within the water industry" |
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WfWP President Mariet Verhoef-Cohen spoke at the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) annual conference, held in Vienna form 10-12 January, this year discussing actions, potentials, and challenges linked to SDG 5: ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.’
My name is Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, and I am President of both Soroptimist International and the Women for Water Partnership. Wherever I have the opportunity to speak, I advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, particularly in relation to the water sector and the important role woman play. WfWP’s mission is to position women as active leaders, experts, partners and agents of change to ensure access to safe water for all, while SI's vision is to support women and girls to achieve their individual and collective potential, through its network of clubs in 122 countries.
The ever-increasing world population and the rapid spread of industrialisation are resulting in a higher demand for an already dwindling supply of water.
Both WfWP and SI understand that achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 requires working in a transformative way and taking affirmative action. Each goal is interlinked and interdependent, WfWP and SI recognise the special relationship between SDG 4 – Quality Education, SDG 5 – Gender Equality, and SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation.
Why? Women and Water are deeply connected. In many countries it is the women who are responsible for fetching clean drinking water for the family, collecting water to grow vegetables, taking care of waste or wastewater, and I could go on.
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation submitted a report to the Human Rights Council which focused on gender equality to secure the human right to water and sanitation. Rapporteur Léo Heller emphasised the importance of placing a strong focus on the needs of women and girls throughout their lives.
Equality between women and men is a basic human right. Sadly, equality of women and men in law does not automatically lead to a change on the ground, as inequalities are often deeply rooted in society. Women often lack social and political power, and are therefore systematically excluded and marginalized from decision-making processes. Despite efforts in global forums, gender considerations have largely been seen as irrelevant or marginal in decisions about “big water” issues, such as large-scale water supply options (dams, desalination, recycling schemes), catchment management, water allocations, waste water treatment and water trading.
Challenging social norms and stereotypes is a priority, particularly within the water industry. Social and institutional barriers, stereotyping, lack of female role models and the so-called “engineering culture”, which is traditionally male dominated, prevent women from having careers or becoming influential in the water sector. And I dare say, in many other sectors as well.
To quote the Special Rapporteur:
“Participation is not only a right in itself, but also imperative for fulfilling other rights. Participation encompasses women’s power to influence decisions, to voice their needs, to make individual choices and to control their own lives”
We must ensure women’s full and meaningful participation in decision-making, management and governance. We should aim for 40% participation of women in water governance bodies, and it helps to impose quotas. It is both sensible and effective to ensure that women participate in all levels of decision-making. The integration of women in the water industry can contribute to gender mainstreaming throughout the sector and to services being managed from the perspective of women.
This goes hand in hand with the allocation of sufficient means for empowerment, capacity development, vocational training, career enhancement, to enable women to fulfil these roles. Finances should reach women directly, because that is the most effective and efficient way to secure success.
To mainstream the involvement of women and girls in areas related to the common good demands a change in attitude and behaviour towards women and girls of all ages. For women and girls to be agents of change, they must be considered valuable contributors to sustainable development and their input must be considered equal; they should not merely be thought of as ‘beneficiaries’ or ‘vulnerable’. Women and girls can increase community capacity at the grassroots level, by leading effective community-based sustainable development actions that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Both WfWP and SI are working with a community of women from the region of Nakuru Kenya. The projects with the Mwihoko Women Group are aimed at enhancing women’s capacity in leadership, food security, water utility, clean energy and economic development. Women will receive vocational training and expert support to attain higher crop yields – while using less water, the right seeds after soil analysis, less fertiliser and fewer pesticides. The women contribute as well. At the end of their education they will be able to market their improved crops and will be economically independent and empowered.
Governments must also do their part by supporting investments through appropriate technology development, such as solar-powered pumps, and training. Water management is largely seen as technology driven, and for generations technology has not been perceived as women’s business. We must overcome this bias!
All in all, the role of women as water professionals and/or traditional water managers is not valued enough. Projects managed by women are often not recognised as contributing to Integrated Water Resource Management. Infrastructure is not maintained, also because women are left behind and not being trained as plumbers etc.
It would also be more effective to involve women in designing, budgeting, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs in the field of water and sustainable development. It goes together with allocation of sufficient means for empowerment, capacity development, vocational training, career enhancement to enable women to fulfil these roles. Financial support should reach women directly, because that is the most effective and efficient way to achieve results.
The distribution of irrigation technology is closely related to land rights and division of labour. Just as women are not allocated land beyond what is required for subsistence, they rarely apply mechanised irrigation technologies to their plots of land because the low commercial value of their yields does not seem to justify the investment. Nonetheless, in some cases, for example in Ethiopia, women do express an interest in mechanised irrigation technologies for greater financial independence and household food security. There is a demand for solar pumps to reduce both domestic and field labour requirements near the households under women’s supervision. A positive development!
I will conclude by asking you some questions and I hope these questions might encourage discussion and allow you to share some of your ideas.
My name is Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, and I am President of both Soroptimist International and the Women for Water Partnership. Wherever I have the opportunity to speak, I advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, particularly in relation to the water sector and the important role woman play. WfWP’s mission is to position women as active leaders, experts, partners and agents of change to ensure access to safe water for all, while SI's vision is to support women and girls to achieve their individual and collective potential, through its network of clubs in 122 countries.
The ever-increasing world population and the rapid spread of industrialisation are resulting in a higher demand for an already dwindling supply of water.
- 4.5 billion people, that is around 60% of the world population, have no toilet at home or one that doesn't safely manage excreta.
- 1.8 billion people use an untreated source of drinking water with no protection against contamination from faeces.
- Today, for billions of people around the world, sanitation systems are either non-existent or ineffective and, consequently, progress in health and child survival is seriously undermined.
- Combined with safe water and good hygiene, improved sanitation could prevent around 850,000 deaths every year.
Both WfWP and SI understand that achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 requires working in a transformative way and taking affirmative action. Each goal is interlinked and interdependent, WfWP and SI recognise the special relationship between SDG 4 – Quality Education, SDG 5 – Gender Equality, and SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation.
Why? Women and Water are deeply connected. In many countries it is the women who are responsible for fetching clean drinking water for the family, collecting water to grow vegetables, taking care of waste or wastewater, and I could go on.
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation submitted a report to the Human Rights Council which focused on gender equality to secure the human right to water and sanitation. Rapporteur Léo Heller emphasised the importance of placing a strong focus on the needs of women and girls throughout their lives.
Equality between women and men is a basic human right. Sadly, equality of women and men in law does not automatically lead to a change on the ground, as inequalities are often deeply rooted in society. Women often lack social and political power, and are therefore systematically excluded and marginalized from decision-making processes. Despite efforts in global forums, gender considerations have largely been seen as irrelevant or marginal in decisions about “big water” issues, such as large-scale water supply options (dams, desalination, recycling schemes), catchment management, water allocations, waste water treatment and water trading.
Challenging social norms and stereotypes is a priority, particularly within the water industry. Social and institutional barriers, stereotyping, lack of female role models and the so-called “engineering culture”, which is traditionally male dominated, prevent women from having careers or becoming influential in the water sector. And I dare say, in many other sectors as well.
To quote the Special Rapporteur:
“Participation is not only a right in itself, but also imperative for fulfilling other rights. Participation encompasses women’s power to influence decisions, to voice their needs, to make individual choices and to control their own lives”
We must ensure women’s full and meaningful participation in decision-making, management and governance. We should aim for 40% participation of women in water governance bodies, and it helps to impose quotas. It is both sensible and effective to ensure that women participate in all levels of decision-making. The integration of women in the water industry can contribute to gender mainstreaming throughout the sector and to services being managed from the perspective of women.
This goes hand in hand with the allocation of sufficient means for empowerment, capacity development, vocational training, career enhancement, to enable women to fulfil these roles. Finances should reach women directly, because that is the most effective and efficient way to secure success.
To mainstream the involvement of women and girls in areas related to the common good demands a change in attitude and behaviour towards women and girls of all ages. For women and girls to be agents of change, they must be considered valuable contributors to sustainable development and their input must be considered equal; they should not merely be thought of as ‘beneficiaries’ or ‘vulnerable’. Women and girls can increase community capacity at the grassroots level, by leading effective community-based sustainable development actions that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Both WfWP and SI are working with a community of women from the region of Nakuru Kenya. The projects with the Mwihoko Women Group are aimed at enhancing women’s capacity in leadership, food security, water utility, clean energy and economic development. Women will receive vocational training and expert support to attain higher crop yields – while using less water, the right seeds after soil analysis, less fertiliser and fewer pesticides. The women contribute as well. At the end of their education they will be able to market their improved crops and will be economically independent and empowered.
Governments must also do their part by supporting investments through appropriate technology development, such as solar-powered pumps, and training. Water management is largely seen as technology driven, and for generations technology has not been perceived as women’s business. We must overcome this bias!
All in all, the role of women as water professionals and/or traditional water managers is not valued enough. Projects managed by women are often not recognised as contributing to Integrated Water Resource Management. Infrastructure is not maintained, also because women are left behind and not being trained as plumbers etc.
It would also be more effective to involve women in designing, budgeting, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs in the field of water and sustainable development. It goes together with allocation of sufficient means for empowerment, capacity development, vocational training, career enhancement to enable women to fulfil these roles. Financial support should reach women directly, because that is the most effective and efficient way to achieve results.
The distribution of irrigation technology is closely related to land rights and division of labour. Just as women are not allocated land beyond what is required for subsistence, they rarely apply mechanised irrigation technologies to their plots of land because the low commercial value of their yields does not seem to justify the investment. Nonetheless, in some cases, for example in Ethiopia, women do express an interest in mechanised irrigation technologies for greater financial independence and household food security. There is a demand for solar pumps to reduce both domestic and field labour requirements near the households under women’s supervision. A positive development!
I will conclude by asking you some questions and I hope these questions might encourage discussion and allow you to share some of your ideas.
- What are good examples of initiatives that you might know or have been involved in, that foster inclusive and transformative leadership which has helped strengthen the visibility, collective voice and representation of women?
- What actions can we take to cultivate leadership in women, particularly young women and what recommendations do you have for such future activities?
- How can we encourage more women to be involved in the management of common goods, such as water, forestry etc.
