Integrating Gender Equity into Water Management

By Paola Moreno Bermudez, Colombia Program Coordinator and Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Project Lead, Green Empowerment

In many rural communities, women and girls often bear the responsibility of collecting water, walking long distances that take time away from school, work, and other opportunities. Access to water is not just an infrastructure issue; it is deeply connected to gender roles and community dynamics. Whether water is scarce or abundant, it influences every aspect of life—who works, who stays home, and who has a voice in decision-making.

Achieving gender equity requires not only recognizing women’s roles but also acknowledging men’s roles to ensure a more balanced distribution of responsibilities and greater female inclusion in decision-making. 

When men and women share the work, everyone benefits. Without a gender-sensitive approach, water projects risk reinforcing the very inequalities they aim to address. This makes it essential to develop strategies that promote sustainable, inclusive, and equitable water management, particularly in a climate where gender-focused initiatives are facing criticism and defunding.

Mapping the Path Forward

In an effort to address persistent gender inequalities in water management, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of our knowledge and practices and those of our local partners across Latin America. Through diagnostics, surveys, expert interviews, workshops and focus groups, we identified the challenges and opportunities for integrating gender inclusion within water projects. This analysis helped us understand how gender-focused practices were being applied and where further efforts were necessary. The most significant outcome (of diagnosis) was the collaborative design of a Field Guide, created to support our partner organizations in mainstreaming the GESI approach into water projects in Latin America.

Collaborating with local partners like Altrópico, Fundación Halü, Fundación Suyusama, Asomaincupaco, Water for People, and Energía, Ambiente y Sostenibilidad, we piloted the guide in communities across Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Peru. The field guide pilot allowed us to refine our approach, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness in diverse community settings.

We learned that although women and girls face heavy burdens in water collection and domestic use, they have limited representation in decision-making. Recognizing this, we focused on designing water systems that not only meet the technical needs but also foster more equal participation in their management.

Deepening Impact: Expanding GESI in Water Management

As we move into the second phase of this project, our focus will be on scaling up, ongoing support for partners, good practices and leadership, and knowledge exchange. We aim to expand the implementation of the GESI Field Guide, integrating it into more projects and communities while ensuring its relevance across diverse contexts. Providing ongoing, personalized support to our partners will be key, helping them adapt the guide’s activities to their local realities and strengthening their capacity to apply gender-inclusive approaches effectively.

Additionally, we are committed to documenting and sharing best practices that highlight the transformative role of women and youth in community water management. By showcasing emerging leadership models and exploring how responsibilities—such as care work—are being redistributed, we can better understand and support more equitable approaches to water governance.

Lastly, fostering spaces for peer learning and knowledge exchange will be essential in this phase. By creating opportunities for partners to share their experiences, challenges, and insights, we can collectively strengthen our impact, ensuring that GESI principles remain at the core of sustainable water management efforts.

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