22/03/2026
Today is World Water Day, with the theme of 'Gender and Water'.
When the water used to grow our food and produce our goods is used unfairly and unsustainably, communities lose out. And often it is women and girls who face the hardest impacts when the human rights to clean, safe water and decent sanitation are not respected, and when climate vulnerabilities are increased by unsustainable water use for global supply chains.
- Women and girls worldwide spend 250million hours a day collecting water, 3x more than men and boys: what opportunities does that take them away from, in education, paid employment or community leadership?
- Women are 14 times more likely to die in climate-related disasters like floods and droughts
- Research shows that increased female participation in decision-making leads to better water management outcomes- but only about 15% of national-level environmental sector ministries among UN Member States are led by women.
In our image gallery, meet the women community leaders, healthcare workers and farmers, working for water security, climate resilience and human rights, including Linda, Angella and Gloria in Malawi, and Adelaida in Peru.
Email your MP today to call for a UK Business, Human Rights and Environment Act- which would introduce a duty on companies to prevent human rights and environmental harms in their supply chains: www.waterwitness.org/act-now