Gender equality and social inclusion mainstreaming in WASH interventions

Time: 1400–1515 CET | 1300–1415 GMT

Poor access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services threatens population health and contributes to gender and social inequalities, especially in low-resource settings. Despite awareness in the WASH sector of the importance of promoting gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) to address these inequalities, evaluations of interventions focus largely on health outcomes, while gender equality and other social outcomes are rarely included. GESI mainstreaming in WASH services is often viewed as having the dual purpose of improving the sustainability and effectiveness of the technical and health outcomes, as well as promoting positive change in GESI outcomes.

The project team used a systematic mapping methodology to collate and describe available research evidence of GESI outcomes evaluated in WASH intervention studies. The team searched for both academic and grey literature published between 2010 and 2020 in 16 bibliographic databases and 53 specialist websites.

The review included 499 publications across 463 studies. Most included studies (78%) lacked a specific GESI mainstreaming component in their intervention design. Of the interventions with GESI mainstreaming, the majority targeted women and girls, with very few focused on other social groups or intersectional considerations.

In light of the research gaps found in the review on gender and social outcomes of WASH interventions: synthesis of research evidence, the aim of this session is to discuss the importance of GESI mainstreaming in WASH interventions. Specifically, the webinar will explore how evaluations of GESI mainstreaming efforts in WASH can be improved and discuss the type of support needed to achieve this mainstreaming.