To ensure that the findings and main messages of “Advancing towards gender mainstreaming in water resources management” are shared with a range of audiences worldwide, the related Policy brief is now available in French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
The report, commissioned by the SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme and launched during a Learning Exchange event with more than 180 participants in September 2021, found that women remain under-represented in water resources management. Half of all countries reported limited or no achievement of gender objectives in their water management policies and plans in the survey on SDG indicator 6.5.1 in 2020.
While gender and inclusion policies have been developed around the world, there is still a gap between policy and implementation. The brief provides a summary of key enablers and concrete recommendations on how countries can accelerate progress towards gender mainstreaming in water management. It is also a practical tool to support regional and national awareness raising and advocacy initiatives on gender mainstreaming.
Another good example of advancing on gender mainstreaming is the diagnostic analysis of the level of inclusion of the gender approach in the regulatory, political, and planning framework of water and climate change management which was conducted by GWP Central and South America in eight Latin American countries earlier this year. Based on this analysis, GWP Central America held an online training in November 2021 with representatives from ministries of environment, water services, and offices for women’s issues on how to integrate gender in public policies on water resources and climate change. Among the workshop results is a set of guidelines on how to mainstream a gender approach in policy processes and development programming. This document is under revision and will be shared in early 2022.
“We won’t realise optimal IWRM without achieving gender equality, which makes gender equality a major issue for all those aiming to improve the management of water resources,” said Litumelo Mate Sievers, Gender Specialist for the Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) at GWP Southern Africa.
Given the importance of this topic, the SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme will in 2022 support gender mainstreaming efforts in IWRM Action planning in countries, and aims to strengthen regional initiatives seeking to accelerate IWRM implementation where an additional focus on gender mainstreaming and contextualization can be incorporated. Furthermore, it plans to continue supporting knowledge and experience sharing through events and in a new Community of Practice on SDG 6.5.1, to be launched in March 2022.
Learn more about how GWP contributes to gender equality and visit the Support Programme’s website to access the report and policy briefs.