Bangladeshi Women’s Leadership in Water Governance

Oct 16, 2021
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Women in Bangladesh play a crucial role in collecting water, often bearing the brunt of physical labor and household chores. Despite women and girls playing an instrumental role in water collection and facing disproportionate impacts of improper and unsafe sanitation facilities, they are vastly underrepresented in leadership positions within the water industry. Women often do not have the opportunity to participate in decision-making pertaining to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as men overwhelmingly dominate these positions. In Bangladesh, only “20% of representatives in water management organizations” are women. To increase women’s employment and potential leadership in water governance, the World Bank has introduced the Bangladesh Rural WASH for Human Capital Development program. The water sector acts as a crucial source of employment for women and the lack of women in the industry is representative of immense untapped opportunity.

A multitude of complex, intersecting factors prevents women’s participation and employment in WASH. Barriers arguably begin in the education system, where a limited number of women graduate from STEM and TVET programs. Additionally, cultural norms in Bangladesh coupled with gendered expectations restrict women from even attempting to enter the workforce.

Because of these entrenched social norms, leadership positions in water governance often seem unattainable for women and many people label work in WASH as “dirty, dangerous and heavy.” Moreover, barriers such as the lack of gender-friendly and private sanitation facilities, a lack of menstrual products and overt discrimination in the workplace prevent women from remaining in or moving up to leadership roles in the WASH industry.