Advancing Gender Equality and Inclusion in Climate-Resilient Water and Sanitation

Timeframe

July 2018 - December 2024

Lead Researchers

Professor Juliet Willetts
Melita Grant
Dr Jess MacArthur
Dr Naomi Carrard
Diana Gonzalez Botero

SDGs

5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
13. Climate Action

Posted on 1 Oct 2025

Transformative research partnerships driving gender equality and social inclusion in water, sanitation, and hygiene across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) tackled one of humanity's most pressing challenges through an award-winning research initiative focused on gender equality in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). With 2.2 billion people lacking safely managed drinking water and 3.5 billion without safely managed sanitation globally, this work addressed essential needs—particularly for women and children who disproportionately bear the burden of labour and disease resulting from inadequate WASH services.

Through transformative partnerships across Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu, the team developed innovative tools now used worldwide: the WASH gender equality measure, an inclusive workforce database, and climate-resilient WASH frameworks. These resources have proven useful to regional partners, with one Cambodian collaborator noting that the work "not only built capacity for our team on research methods but also benefited Cambodia," while others praised the "impactful practical tools that can be applied by implementers directly."

The project's influence extended to policy level, with Indonesia's Ministry of National Development incorporating recommendations into their SDG 6 roadmap. This achievement demonstrates the initiative's far-reaching impact on sustainable development.

The success stemmed from a transdisciplinary approach that united diverse expertise to address complex challenges while mentoring early career researchers. By co-creating locally relevant evidence and solutions and building regional research capacity, the project made significant contributions to multiple Sustainable Development Goals.
Supported by the Australian Government's Water for Women Fund, this collaborative effort yielded measurable outcomes: strengthened women's leadership in local governance, improved community-led inclusive climate-resilient WASH programs, and influential policy changes that will benefit millions across the Asia-Pacific region.