gender issues in water resources management
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Gender issues in water resources management . . .towards a vision of Equity and Sustainability. Water has become a strategic resource. Its control is a source of power A key to economic development and A trigger to socio-political stress - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Gender issues in water Gender issues in water resources managementresources management
. . .towards a vision of Equity and . . .towards a vision of Equity and SustainabilitySustainability
Water has become a strategic resource. . .
• Its control is a source of power
• A key to economic development and
• A trigger to socio-political stress
Improved management of water is imperative to sustainable development,poverty alleviation and biodiversity preservation
“…..women are not a special interest group in water and sanitation,they are a mainstream interest group….without their involvement,projects risk being inappropriate,and failing.”
Why gender ?Why gender ?
What is gender ?What is gender ?
Relative status of men and women society
Gender Role – Reproductive,productive, community managing role & community politics role.
Triple roleTriple role
The Gender GapThe Gender Gap
BeneficiaryBeneficiaryParticipationParticipation
Gender AnalysisGender Analysis
Planning & Evaluation Planning & Evaluation (including logframe)(including logframe)
Gender analysis
• Seeing what our eyes have been trained not to see.
• Access & control- men &women have on resources.
Why ?• To Ensure services needed by men &
women in a sustainable manner and are appropriate to their circumstances.
Participatory exercises & tools for gender analysis
• Access to resources
• Task analysis & role flexibility by gender
• Women’s lives:needs assessments
• Gender analysis of poverty
• Evaluation of gender diff. In decision making
Change ProcessChange Process
Resistance to change
Change through intervention
Management of theresistance to change
How and wherewe want to be
Expected reality
How and where weare
Perceived reality
Actual situation Future situation
Women’s water roles
• Provision of water for fulfillment of fundamental human needs
• Family hygiene is in their hands• Cooking ,washing,cleaning etc.,• Hauling water and storage• Crop production• Livestock management
women not passive users but active managers of . . community water supply
Women’s economic contribution
• Produce 80% of food in poorest parts of the world.(some places 95%)
First produce water• Spend 8 hours finding,collecting,storing and
purifying water.• Negotiate with others for access to
water,evaluate water sources,analyse supply patterns and lobby relevant authorities and launch protests when availability is threatened
Critiques the notion of participationWho participates in projects and why?
Are the needs of men and women known and/or
responded to?
Is there a complementary or competing agenda
among beneficiaries?
Have participants had input into project
monitoring and evaluation?
Discussions with women as separate group and
with men.
Why a gender approach ?
Black holes in the practice of community participation
• Community not a collection of equal people• Communities contain competing interest
groups• Water is for life & is also an economic
resource. Power issues place women in
a . . disadvantaged position
Gender approach highlights…
• The differences between men and women’s interest
• The conventions and hierarchies in society
• The differences among men and women based on age,ethnic background and other factors
• The way gender roles and differences change
Women – OUT of Modern Management Picture
BEFORE• WRM – part of unpaid, informal
economy,governed by traditional norms,women are responsible .
NOW• Once it enters public domain,it becomes
subject to hierarchical rules –men are planners,managers & decision makers and women carry out the decisions.
Situation of Women today
• Women are overburdened by the double responsibilities of House hold & Economic effort
• Cultural bias against participation in decision making bodies
• Patriarchal relations also express themselves in control of land rights
• Patriarchal patterns (attitudes) also among official decision making at all levels.
Situation cont’d
• Women lack skills relevant to participation (poor literacy level )
• Women often lack technical skills
• Women are absent from,managerial engineering and policy making levels of society
Sustainable Water management
• Technical sustainability: user involvement in the choice of appropriate and affordable technology
• Social sustainability : user recognition of the benefits of water resource provisions through stakeholder participation and gender sensitive approaches
SWM. . .Cont’d
• Financial sustainability : user management of financial resources
• Environmental sustainability : user resource management
• Institutional sustainability : user involvement as stakeholders in devolved power,capacity building and local autonomy.
Gender mainstreaming
. . .the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action,including legislation policies or programs, in all areas at all levels.
It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences as integral dimension of the design,implementation,monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political,economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally.
10 lessons on Gender
• Gender is central concern in water & sanitation
• Ensuring both women’s and men’s participation improves project performance
• Specific simple mechanisms must be created to ensure women’s involvement
• Attention to gender needs as soon as possible
• Gender analysis is integral to project identification and data collection
Lessons cont’d• A learning approach is more gender responsive
than blue print approach• Projects are more effective when both women
and men’s preferences about hardware are addressed
• Women and men promote project goals through both their traditional and non-traditional roles
• NGOs and especially women’s group can facilitate gender balanced approach
• Gender related indicators should be included when assessing project performances
Mainstreaming gender in WRMAt national level• Gender perspectives in the water sector to be
recognised in all policies and programmes• Legal frameworks and institutional reforms to
incorporate gender considerations• Building capacity increase the understanding of
gender implications for water management• A proactive effort to gender sensitise water
management approaches at national policy making levels to ensure equity
• Gender training for men and women working in water related bodies at all levels
Gender in WRM Cont’d
• Policy changes so that gender becomes an intrinsic part of national WRM strategy
At the project/local /community level• Gender stratification in research and planning• In-depth gender-sensitive consultation
processes that allow participation of both in decision making
• Ensuring gender balanced participation in management at all levels
Gender in WRM Cont’d
• Capacity building of women to perform all managerial functions
• Gender training for both women and men at local level
• Capacity building to equip women to perform technical functions
• Strategies to ensure that both women and men share the benefits of changes in water supply management
Benefits of gendered WRM
• Greater effectiveness
• Greater efficiency
• Better development
• Greater equity
• Sustainable use in water eco-systems
Benefits to the society,environment and water sector
• Economic
• Nutrition and health
• Social
• Environmental
• Financial
• Cultural
Thank you
Gains of Gender approach
• Efficiency• Effectiveness• Equity• Affordability
P AmudhaProject officer,Unicef