Women & Water

An alliance of women in the water sector.

The words Women and Water are often coined together. In terms of collection and storage, perceived to be a woman's job in many countries, walking up to three and a half miles a day to find clean water for their families. In terms of agricultural water management, where in several parts of the world, a larger proportion of women than men are engaged in rain-fed agriculture. In terms of household management, where often women are the managers of domestic water distribution. These are but a few areas in which women are directly responsible for water challenges, however are not involved in the decision-making process or do not have the authorisation over which they manage.

Video: Sunita Narain discusses the role of women in water use and management

Water is one of the root causes of many development challenges; poverty eradication, improved health, better access to education, environmental protection, sanitation and gender. Yet despite the known gender implications in water management, women's participation in decision-making roles in the professional water sector remains minimal.

Source: Australian Water Association, 2016.

Something needs to change. In 2018, two water engineers got together and decided to create "Women & Water". The goal of the group is not only to encourage women to feel that they belong in the water sector, but also that they should be heard and that they do make a difference. It is a dynamic place of passionate and committed professionals working to ensure secure and sustainable access to water resources.

It is important for women to feel part of a strong network with access to mentors, personal and professional resources, a place to share and discuss their work and a safe space to speak about challenges and successes experienced within the sector.

The "Women & Water" network is comprised of people working on all issues relating to water, from water governance through to drought mitigation, agricultural water productivity, groundwater modelling, and urban water infrastructure resilience to name a few. Through the creation of this diverse group of female experts in the water sector we are able to support and encourage one another in our work and share access to resources. At times we may find ourselves the only female at a conference or event or maybe even in our working team, department or company/institution. It is important, especially at these times, to know that we are part of a strong supportive network working towards the same end.

Help us create a better alliance and network of Women & Water and Join our community.

If you're passionate about water or are working in a water-related sector, please join us! We encourage all women, from the #community to members of the #board to access our resources and engage with others in the water sector.

For all members of (and visitors to) Women & Water we would love to hear from you. Join us, like us, follow us, post something, start a discussion, share your work.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Alison Prior and Imeshi Weerasinghe