Watering the Seeds of Empowerment: The Crucial Link Between Women and Water and Investment on International Women’s Day
By Laney Beaman, Director of Investor Relations at WaterEquity
International Women’s Day serves as a global reminder of the persistent gender disparities and the urgent need for increased investment in women. One critical avenue for empowering women is through strategic investments in water and sanitation. Access to safe water is not only a basic human right but also a powerful catalyst for socio-economic development.
To understand how water issues affect gender equality and socio-economic development, consider that millions of people, mostly women, spend time and energy each day collecting water from local wells, streams, or other sources. In fact, women spend a collective 200 million hours gathering water each day. Women and girls also spend 266 million hours every day traveling to, or looking for, a safe place to relieve themselves. Each hour represents valuable time that could otherwise be spent on education, learning new skills, caring for family, or running a business. Cumulatively, this represents millions of hours in lost economic activity, which only reinforces wealth and gender inequalities. Ensuring everyone has access to water and sanitation services at home is projected to yield $37 billion per year, with substantial health and timesaving benefits, especially for women and girls. In addition, when women take leadership roles in the water sector there are benefits for everyone. Research from the United Nations Development Program on nearly 50 water projects across Asia and Africa shows that when women engage in shaping water policies and institutions, communities have greater and more sustainable access to water services.
At WaterEquity, our investments specifically target women beneficiaries, and we integrate gender into our investment decision-making processes, carefully evaluating opportunities to maximize our impact on women and girls. Gender equality is not an indirect impact of our investments, but a core component of our strategy. Since 2016, WaterEquity has deployed more than $360 million in capital to on-the-ground financial institutions and water and sanitation enterprises, spanning more than 96 investments across 19 low- and middle-income countries.
Women as microloan customers & beneficiaries: WaterEquity’s primary gender focus is on the impact of improved access to water and sanitation on the lives of women and girls. WaterEquity monitors the evidence-backed, third-party research on gender benefits that result from different types of water and sanitation investments.
93% of water & sanitation microloan end clients are women
Women in leadership, the workforce & the community: Additionally, WaterEquity conducts a gender inclusion analysis for every investee as part of an ESG assessment. This analysis identifies areas where an investee is a strong performer in gender inclusive employment policies, product design, and leadership composition, as well as where there is scope to improve.
77% of WaterEquity investees have at least one woman assigned to the board
We believe that ensuring equitable access to safe water and sanitation cannot be accomplished without giving women the power and the capital to solve for their futures. If you’re interested in learning more about WaterEquity’s gender-lens approach to investment, contact our team.
International Women’s Day calls for a renewed commitment to gender equality, and strategic investments in water present a tangible and transformative pathway towards women’s empowerment. By recognizing the interdependence of women and water, we can address not only the immediate challenges faced by women but also contribute to the broader Sustainable Development Goals. As investors and global citizens, it is our responsibility to advocate for and support investments in water that uplift women, promote economic empowerment, and pave the way for a more equitable and prosperous future.
