Are men better water managers than women? This is just one of the thought-provoking questions that stir discussion among the GTZ Water and Sanitation Program partners and staff, as they move forward in supporting gender equality and women empowerment.
To prime start the process, a 1-day orientation on Gender and WATSAN was conducted in July 2007, initiated by GTZ together with its partners at the National Level. This workshop enabled participants to do a quick scan of how far the gender issues are being tackled and integrated into WATSAN programs. Partner institutions present during the orientation include the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG0, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) and the National Anti-poverty Commission (NAPC).
Although water and sanitation are welfare concerns and affect everyone, whether male or female, the delivery of water and sanitation relies on how the different needs of women and men are being taken into account in service delivery. The analysis evidently showed that there are still challenges and opportunities for the program in terms of mainstreaming gender at this stage (Phase 4). For example, there is a dearth of gender-related interventions on water and sanitation. On the other hand, technical knowledge on water and sanitation has targeted men more than women, since “fixing the water pipe” is perceived to be men’s work. However, water management goes beyond laying down the pipes but is more about deciding how water resources should be allocated or conserved, a role women have played but not fully recognized.
Recently, two more orientation and action planning workshops (both happened in September 2007) were done to hasten the mainstreaming efforts of the program’s major projects namely: The Philippine Portal for WATSAN Sector (KM Portal) and The WATSAN Capacity Development Programs for LGUs through the WATSAN Toolbox.
Both projects are seen to be effective channels/tools in bringing gender issues at different levels of development- macro, meso and micro. The KM Portal is envisioned to provide accurate, reliable and gender-responsive WATSAN data/information to be used by decision and policy makers; and the WSS Toolbox can create awareness among LGUs and communities about women and men’s role in water resources and sanitation management.
Gender mainstreaming is a challenge that cannot be overcome overnight. It needs sustained venues for learning and sharing, training and capacity building for project implementers to be gender-sensitive
The WATSAN program is taking small steps towards achieving gender equality and women empowerment, but the way is not too far if we take gender as an everyday issue that has to be confronted and dealt with in the program.
The project is supported by Ms. Gaynor Tanyang, Gender Mainstreaming Expert. |
