1. brewster@un.org unwater@un.org Presentation by Marcia M. Brewster Task Manager, United Nations Interagency Gender and Water Task Force Capturing the Big Picture on Gender and Water World Water Week, Stockholm 22 August 2006

2. Overview  Background/Mandates  Reality check  Water and sanitation are gender issues  Challenges  Opportunities  Drivers Overview

3. Background/Mandates  Dublin, Rio and Johannesburg  Millennium Development Goals  International Year of Freshwater, 2003  Interagency Task Force on Gender and Water  Commission on Sustainable Development 2004-05

4. International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005--2015 To increase focus on water-related issues by 2015 To increase focus on water-related issues by 2015 To ensure the participation and involvement of women in water-related development efforts To ensure the participation and involvement of women in water-related development efforts United Nations system to deliver a coordinated response United Nations system to deliver a coordinated response

5. Reality check  By 2025 two thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages, unless current habits change  Decade and Task Force were established without any budget  Numbers of people with access to safe water and sanitation not improving  Women produce 60 to 80% of food, own 2% of land  Power relations do not support investments in WSS

6. Water and sanitation are gender issues

7. Example of Lipopo, Owamboland in Rural Namibia Water collection is a female responsibility

8. Girls at the waterhole…

9. The difference water and education can make Magano Ickua and Marcia Brewster at MIT

10. Challenges  Gender mainstreaming should not lose focus on women  Affirmative action may still be required  Successful cases need to be scaled up  Learn from those who have done it well  Hard data and evidence disaggregated by sex  Women’s voices need to be heard  Long slow process of capacity building and engaging the community

11. Opportunities  UN Water priorities  Human Development Report  Additional resources  GWP Toolbox  Successful joint programmes  Partnerships

12. Drivers for change  Evidence and data  Demonstrated cost effectiveness  Soft path solutions  Credible advocacy  Broad-based partnerships  Incentives for managers  Leadership

13. Women leaders for WASH Commission on Sustainable Development, 13th session, New York, 19 April 2005

14. Further information Water for Life Decade http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade Marcia Brewster Task Manager, UN Interagency Task Force on Gender and Water brewster@un.org http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/inter_agency/