Actually, it's not a gap, it is a gaping crater: In its 2024 international Women's Day statement, the UN notes an alarming deficit in gender-equality measures and stresses that progress in many key fields depends upon equality. Accordingly, this year's motto is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress”. It pays for the water sector to pull its weight here, and IAWD has long been on board.

Follow the link to the United Nations' statement and you will learn about the worldwide deficit in budgets for gender-equality measures. It is staggering - $360 billion per year. This is deplorable, and not only because it is deeply unfair: Lack of investment in equality damages the chances to create prosperous economies and a healthy planet.

Therefore, the UN calls for joint action to fight poverty, implement gender-responsive financing, shift to a green economy and care society, and to support feminist change-makers. Not only because gender equality is the greatest human rights challenge of our time, but because progress in this field will benefit everyone.

The water sector is well aware of this issue. Utilities in many parts of the world are faced with recruiting problems and female managers, engineers and frontline workers will be needed to keep the water flowing. The talent reservoir is still very much untapped: The report "Women in Water Utilities: Breaking Barriers" shows that only 18 percent of water utility workers are female, and those who consider a career in the sector more often face biased hiring processes, inadequate family-friendly policies reduced training opportunities, and other hurdles. 

Change for the better is up to us all, and IAWD pulls its weight. On World Water Day 2022, we have officially joined Equal Aqua (EA), a collaborative platform established by the World Bank’s Water Global Practice, with the support of Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP) and in collaboration with external partners. Equal Aqua promotes the dialogue on gender diversity and inclusion in water sector jobs. It connects utilities, associations, local and international organizations, academia and the private sector, benchmarking gender and aiming at providing utilities and water organizations with human resource tools to boost female recruitment, retention, and promotion in water sector jobs.

IAWD has a whole spectrum of contributions to make. In the context of the Danube Water Program, IAWD and the World Bank have introduced a specific indicator to monitor female participation in events like the Danube Water Conference, Danube Water Forum, DWP KnowNow webinars and others, usually registering a healthy gender balance of 50/50. Gender equality and career paths for women are also an important focus in IAWD's partnership with the Young Water Professionals network.

“This International Women’s Day, let’s unite to transform challenges into opportunities and shape a better future for all”, says the UN in its message. We will do our best, and not only today.