UN scientists warn about the low representation of women in leadership positions in the water sector

A new publication in Nature Water by UN University scientists sheds light on the persistent gender disparities in the global water workforce. The article, titled “Quantifying Women in the Water Workforce,” warns that despite international discussions and efforts to promote gender equality, women remain significantly underrepresented in this crucial sector, particularly in leadership and decision-making roles.

The authors recognize women as “essential agents of change” in the water sector based on their proven substantial social, economic, and environmental contributions. However, they raise serious concerns about the deep-seated social and cultural norms, gender discrimination, limited education and training opportunities, and discriminatory promotion systems that hinder women’s advancement in the water sector, especially in the Global South, which their investigation was focused on.

The article underscores the low representation of women in the water workforce across various positions, based on an investigation involving over 170 water sector organizations in the Global South. On average, only 26% of these organizations were led by women. Women’s representation at lower levels of authority were found to be slightly better with an average of 36% for junior positions and 38% for mid-career positions.

The UN researchers attribute the barriers to the promotion of women to a range of issues including intended or unintended strategic exclusion from decision making, poorly implemented gender policies, societal norms and organizational culture, and/or limited training, mentoring, and networking opportunities for women.

One of the key messages from the UNU publication is the urgent need to close the gender data gap. The researchers argue that gender-disaggregated statistics are crucial for effective water management and achieving inclusivity, as promoted by the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality. They conclude that world is currently not equipped with the necessary measures to monitor women’s involvement in the water sector at various levels of authority, hampering the progress toward achieving the UN Sustainable Goal 6 to secure clean water and sanitation for all.

“Without robust gender data, effective water management remains a significant challenge,” said Grace Oluwasanya, the lead author of the article and a senior researcher in water, climate and gender at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

“The urgency to address the gaps is clear. Only with comprehensive and reliable gender data can we ensure effective water management and equitable governance, leading to a more sustainable and inclusive future for all,” she added.

The publication highlights that sex-disaggregated data on the water workforce at national, regional, and global levels are scarce in public data repositories. Organizational websites also rarely provide this crucial information, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to comprehensively evaluate women’s participation and visibility in the water sector, especially in the Global South.

“The scarcity of gender-disaggregated data and the reluctance of some countries to officially share such information severely limit the ability of intergovernmental organizations and UN entities to offer a comprehensive perspective on gender gaps across the water sector,” said Kaveh Madani, the Director of UNU-INWEH and co-author of the article.

“We call for robust data collection and reporting frameworks, emphasizing that the world’s gender data gap must be urgently addressed by the UN member states to fulfill the UN SDGs by 2030.”

The publication is another step by UNU-INWEH—known as the UN think tank on water—towards addressing gender disparities in the water sector and ensuring sustainable and equitable water governance. The authors hope that their findings will inspire policymakers, organizations, and relevant communities to take action and promote greater inclusivity in the water workforce.