On the occasion of World Water Day on March 22, UNESCO released the World Water Development Report titled “Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities” on March 19 on behalf of the UN-Water. The report warns that despite decades of progress, gender inequality continues to jeopardize global water security, with a particularly severe impact on women and girls.

The report shows that 2.1 billion people worldwide still lack safely managed drinking water, with women and girls being the most disadvantaged. They often bear the responsibility of fetching and managing water for their households, which exposes them to physical exertion, loss of educational and livelihood opportunities, and health risks. These issues are particularly pronounced in areas with unsafe or unreliable water supplies.

According to the report, women and girls worldwide spend a combined 250 million hours each day fetching water—time that could otherwise be used for education, leisure, or income-generating activities. Inadequate sanitation facilities disproportionately affect women and girls, particularly in urban slums and rural areas, where the lack of toilets and menstrual hygiene resources leads to feelings of shame and results in missed school, work, or social activities. Additionally, women continue to face systemic underrepresentation in water governance, financing, utilities, and decision-making.

To close the gender gap in water access and leadership, the report proposes several recommendations, including eliminating legal, institutional, and financial barriers that hinder women’s equal rights to water, land, and services; increasing investment in formulating gender-disaggregated water data to reveal inequalities and inform policy; and strengthening women’s leadership and technical capacity, particularly in science and technology related to water governance.