Women and girls are disproportionately affected by global water shortages and lack of sanitation, with far-reaching impacts on health, education, and economic opportunities, a new report by UNESCO has warned.
According to the findings, women are responsible for collecting water in more than 70 percent of rural households without access to a mains supply across the developing world.
Globally, women and girls spend an estimated 250 million hours each day on water collection.
The report highlights that the climate crisis is worsening these inequalities. A one degree Celsius rise in temperature reduces incomes in female-headed households by 34 percent more than in male-headed ones, while also increasing women’s weekly labour time by an average of 55 minutes compared to men.
The UN has urged countries to address these disparities, noting that limited access to water and sanitation contributes to poorer health outcomes, reduced educational opportunities, and threats to food security. Khaled El-Enany said ensuring women’s participation in water management is essential for sustainable development and that equal access benefits entire communities.
The World Water Development Report, produced with UN-Water, found that a lack of gender disaggregated data has made it difficult to fully assess the scale of the issue, though evidence shows women face significant disadvantages in accessing water for daily needs.
Poor sanitation remains a major challenge. Between 2016 and 2022, around 10 million adolescent girls in 40 low-income countries missed school, work, or social activities due to a lack of toilets. In 2024, more than 2.1 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water, while 3.4 billion did not have adequate sanitation.
Women are also underrepresented in water governance and land ownership decisions. Men own roughly twice as much land as women in many countries, limiting women’s influence over water use in agriculture. A separate survey found that fewer than one in five workers in water utilities are women.
Experts say the consequences extend beyond access. Helen Hamilton noted that inadequate water and sanitation in healthcare settings contribute to preventable maternal deaths, while long journeys to collect water expose women to gender based violence.
However, community interventions show potential for change. In rural Kenya, projects supported by World Vision have reduced the time women spend collecting water, enabling them to pursue income-generating activities and improve family health outcomes.
The report concludes that addressing gender inequalities in water access is critical not only for women’s rights but for broader social and economic development.