妇女是更好地管理水管理的秘密武器

In the 1980s, the government of Malawi began providing piped water to low-income households in 50 districts, establishing community-run tap committees to collect bills and manage systems. Men made up 90 percent of committee memberships—and problems quickly became apparent.

The men were often away from home, while women were the ones actually using and managing water day-to-day. Over the years, the tap committees failed to collect payments, manage their money or retain membership. To salvage the project, the government recruited women into the tap committees and trained them. Once women made up the majority of members, they paid water bills more reliably, held regular meetings with high attendance rates, and redesigned communal taps to be more user-friendly. The result was that nearly24,000 low-income familiesacross Malawi gained access to reliable water supplies.

这个故事并非独特：growing bodyof证据shows水项目can become more effective当妇女参加时。然而，从马拉维等社区水集团到国家政策层面，妇女在整体水，卫生和卫生（WASH）行业中的代表性令人沮丧。2014年，妇女组成less than 17 percent发展中国家的Wash劳动力。他们在工程师和水文地质学家等技术工作中的人数尤为不足，以及政策制定者，监管机构和经理等领导角色。

In an increasingly water-stressed world, many countries and regions face the risk of political instability or conflict over water. For this reason, women's lack of involvement in the water sector is troubling not only for gender equity, but for peace and security as well.

The Rising Tide of Women in Water Management

尤其是在发展中国家，男人和女人可能有不同的优先事项和用水的责任。除了与男性一起耕种外，女人还经常负责取水，并将其用于清洁，烹饪和洗涤等家庭杂务。妇女已经是家庭一级的主要水决策者。

当妇女影响水管理时，她们的社区将获得更好的结果，包括更好地运作的水系统，扩大的通道以及经济和环境福利。UNDP research在亚洲和非洲的44个水项目中，当男人和女性都从事塑造水政策和机构时，社区会更多地使用水服务并将其维持更长的时间。研究也表明妇女比男性更公平地共享水，尤其是在稀缺时期。

在国家政策一级，妇女代表可以帮助设计更多的包容性政策，并提出可能被忽略的问题。为了例子，，，，when Maria Mutagamba served as the Ugandan minister of state for water, she developed five-year gender strategies for the water sector. These strategies promoted women to take up key positions on decision-making committees and provided guidance on integrating women's concerns into the water and sanitation sectors. With the implementation of the first round of strategies, Ugandans' access to safe water increased from 51 percent to 61 percent in only two years.

更好的水管理可以减少冲突

As increasing water demand and climate change lead to higher rates of water scarcity and conflict, water management is becoming an increasingly urgent issue.WRI's new research on water, security and conflictshows that water stress is an important factor driving social instability and conflict around the world. A community's risk of water stress depends not only on droughts and floods, but also on its ability to govern fairly and be resilient in the face of these natural hazards. For instance, in the加纳的黑色伏尔塔盆地，，，，community members devised a system of water use rules—including designated times and places to get water—that ensures equitable access among families, herders and farmers in the basin. This system has reduced the region's water-related conflicts.

研究on women，，，，peace and security总体上提供了有力的证据，表明拥有更大的妇女赋权和性别平等的国家也更加和平与稳定。女人玩important roles在正式和非正式和平进程中，政策制定者现在广泛认为性别是how people experience conflict，以及如何减少它。鉴于妇女可以是强大的水管理人员，因此有理由认为妇女参与水管理也可以减少与水有关的风险和冲突。

We Need More Research

许多轶事表明，女性作为水管理的主要参与者的潜力。但是，为了激发更多国家和地区的行动，决策者需要更多证据，尤其是影响评估。当政府和非政府组织评估水发展和建设和平项目的影响时，他们应确保衡量妇女参与的影响。有了这种证据，我们将更好地了解妇女如何帮助解决与水有关的冲突问题。在当地水委员会中增加妇女人数是一大步，但在国内和国际上的妇女领导层可能会带来更大的利益。

编辑注释，10/23/18：此博客文章的先前版本表明，当妇女参与时，水项目的效率可能更高。尽管该统计数据已被广泛引用，但我们无法确认其主要来源，因此已将其从本文中删除。