Gender Toolkit: Empowering Women in Safe Water Enterprises

The toolkit is a result of the experiences and learnings of the Water Knowledge Resource Center (WKRC) partners under the SEWAH project, supported by USAID. These partners have implemented water initiatives across multiple states in India, providing practical guidance on mainstreaming local women or Self-Help Group (SHG) women as social entrepreneurs in the Safe Water Enterprise. The toolkit highlights the disproportionate burden of inadequate WASH services on women, emphasizing the need for policy framing and implementation to recognize and address the experiences, needs, and barriers faced by women and girls. The toolkit aims to empower women to earn a livelihood in water programs, leveraging their potential as social entrepreneurs and water operators. The toolkit draws from the experiences of various organizations, including Safe Water Alliance Platform, WaterHealth, and Waterlife, which have successfully implemented water initiatives with women's participation. These organizations have reported improved water access, increased women's participation, and economic empowerment. The toolkit emphasizes the importance of women's involvement in the design, implementation, and management of water facilities, citing examples of successful projects that have enabled women to break stereotypical roles and become economically independent. The toolkit also highlights the need for women's participation in water quality monitoring and surveillance, water source protection, and other technical skills. The toolkit provides a framework for promoting women's inclusion and empowerment in the water sector, including strategies for addressing gender-based violence, promoting women's leadership, and ensuring women's participation in decision-making processes. The toolkit also provides a set of tools and resources for implementing water initiatives with women's participation, including a digital small water enterprise entrepreneur toolkit. The toolkit is supported by various organizations, including USAID, Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation, and Pentair, and has been developed in collaboration with the Safe Water Network India. The toolkit aims to promote women's empowerment and inclusion in the water sector, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to water and sanitation. The toolkit's content includes a set of acronyms and references to various reports and studies on women's participation in the water sector. The toolkit also includes a pledge to support women's empowerment and inclusion in the water sector, emphasizing the importance of promoting women's dignity, inclusion, and equality. The toolkit's executive summary highlights the need to address the widespread barriers women face in the water sector, citing statistics on India's unemployment rate and the Global Gender Gap Index. The summary emphasizes the importance of promoting women's inclusion and empowerment in the water sector, leveraging their potential as social entrepreneurs and water operators. Overall, the Gender Toolkit Empowering Women in Safe Water Enterprises provides a comprehensive framework for promoting women's inclusion and empowerment in the water sector, highlighting the importance of women's participation in water initiatives and providing a set of tools and resources for implementing successful water projects with women's participation.