So if we are to advocate for a greater role of women in
water access and management, it only follows that an indicator is required to
measure river basins where the need for change is greatest and the impact of any
policy change. van Koppen builds a Gender and Water Index starting from the
Water Poverty Index, which incorporates gender issues both explicitly and
implicitly. However, van Koppen notes that while gender and poverty are highly
related, they are fundamentally “different social phenomena”.
van Koppen’s measure would score a river basin well on the
basis of performance of three main areas:
- Equal access and benefit to domestic water
- Equal costs for domestic water use
- Equal participation in water management and decision-making
However, while this framework may be useful for the reasons
mentioned above, there are some key points to note. Firstly, van Koppen’s model
only incorporates water access in the domestic sphere; productive uses of water
are extremely important for gender equality and so too must be considered.
Secondly, water management is just one of many factors that can contribute to
achieving gender equality in a society, hence, achieving equality requires
greater change in society than just that of water governance.
