Latin America and the Caribbean - Regional Perspectives.

 

Water is essential for domestic and caregiving tasks. In Latin America and the Caribbean, these responsibilities fall predominantly on women, and are typically unpaid and unrecognized. Despite global and regional commitments to gender equality and sustainable development, water governancein the region continues to reflect deep structural inequalities. Women and girls – particularly in rural, Indigenous and low-income communities – bear a disproportionate burden of water-related responsibilities, which can restrict their access to education, employment and leadership opportunities. In 2014, in Panama, 63% of the households with the lowest incomes relied on women to fetch water, compared to only 30% in the wealthiest households. In addition, the lack of adequate sanitation facilities can expose women and girls to health risks and violence, including physical and sexual assaults when they travel long distances to collect water.

In the region, 25% of schools lack basic drinking water services, affecting approximately 37 million schoolchildren. Furthermore, 39% of schools do not have access to handwashing facilities, affecting over one-third of the region’s students – up to 59 million children. Inadequate sanitation facilities – particularly during menstruation – can significantly lower girls’ school attendance and limit their participation in community activities. Inaccessibility to these basic services can also limit women’s participation in education, work, family gatherings, religious services or other public gatherings. In 2018, 17% of women in Suriname were reported to abstain from participating in activities during menstruation due to inadequate facilities, while in Costa Rica, 6.7% reported the same, with higher prevalence in rural areas than in urban areas. This number increased to up to 16.1% when the head of the household did not have primary education.

Despite growing recognition of the importance of gender-responsive WASH policies, progress across Latin America and the Caribbean remains uneven (Figure 7.5). As of 2021, less than half of the countries in the region had policies and plans with specific measures to reach women and girls: 46% for drinking water, 46% for sanitation and 38% for hygiene. Even fewer countries reported tracking progress in extending services to women and girls: only 23% for hygiene, 20% for drinking water and 18% for sanitation. When it comes to financing, only 19% of countries consistently applied specific measures to allocate resources for hygiene services targeting women and girls, while drinking water and sanitation each stood at 38%. These gaps in planning, financing and monitoring underscore the need for stronger institutional commitments and targeted investments to ensure WASH services truly address the needs of women and girls across diverse contexts. Closing the gaps presented in Figure 7.5 could be achieved by prioritizing WASH-related investmentsin underserved areas – such as rural schools without toilets and communities where women and girls walk for hours to fetch water – and adopting protective measures (Box 7.1). These include establishing ‘safe route’ programmes, whereby girls and young women can reach latrines or water points without fear, and installing lighting and fencing around community sanitation facilities to prevent GBV.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, access to waterfor agriculture is closely tied to land tenure, which is often a legal prerequisite for obtaining water-use rights. Yet, only about 30% of rural women hold formal land titles, thus limiting their access to irrigation systems, subsidies and technical assistance. Monitoring this issue remains difficult due to the lack of current data. Available figures show that in countries like Haiti and Peru, women managed around 30% of agricultural land, whereas in Guatemala and Honduras, the proportion was significantly lower at around 19% and 14%, respectively. Beyond land and water rights, women also encounter obstacles to credit, technology, leasing and training – challenges compounded by the burden of unpaid domestic work. While certain irrigation policies launched in the region have aimed to improve agricultural productivity and land access, these instruments often do not fully address rural women’s limited access to technology and resources, thus perpetuating gender gaps in productivity and well-being. In Argentina, the programme En Nuestras Manos – launched in 2015 – sought to provide non-repayable funding to support technology transfer, equipment and supplies for cooperative projects run by women from family farming, rural and Indigenous communities. Through 11 federal committees and collaboration with provincial governments from 22 provinces, 182 comprehensive projects were approved in 2021, totalling over US$807 million, and directly benefiting more than 2,700 women. In Chile, Law 18.450 on the Promotion of Private Investment in Irrigation and Drainage Works aimed to increase the country’s irrigated area by encouraging more efficient water use and incorporating new lands into agricultural production. On 2 August 2023, a new Irrigation Law was enacted, modifying and extending Law 18.450 for seven years. The reform explicitly stated access to its benefits will be promoted through a gender-inclusive approach, fostering the participation of women. Noteworthy outcomes of the amendment include the allocation of Ch$2 billion (approximately US$2 million) in 2024 to support irrigation projects led by women farmers across the country, and the launch of the first online course aimed at female engineers in the agricultural sector, focused on the design of on-farm irrigation systemspowered by photovoltaic cells. Nevertheless, a persistent lack of gender-responsive investment in agricultural policies across the region’s countries continues to constrain capacity-building and limit development of opportunities for women in this sector. This under-investment translates into reduced access to key resources such as financial services, agricultural extensions and technical programmes. These are crucial elements for strengthening women’s roles in agrifood systems and advancing their full economic participation.

Complex dynamics of power, tradition and policy frameworks can affect women’s participation in water governance across Latin America and the Caribbean. While formal governance structures often remain male dominated, local experiences show women play critical – though frequently informal – roles in managing and distributing water resources. For example, a case study in Cochabamba, Plurinational State of Bolivia, revealed that while men dominated formal water governance structures, women formed a collective authority that ensured water distribution to the most vulnerable community members. Their decisions were respected by the formal governing body, with its male majority. However, in Chiapas, Mexico, a study found only 17% of water committee members were women, with their participation often hindered by legal and normative barriers. Women without land titles have frequently been deemed ineligible by their communities, and socio-cultural constraints have limited their public engagement, with their contributions often dismissed for not aligning with male standards of behaviour. In Central America, water governance – for surface water and groundwater – is conducted through WUAs or local water boards. In 2016, 1,120 individuals were involved in this governance, yet only 27% were women. The lack of monitoring policies and targeted investment can undermine efforts to improve women’s participation inwater governance.

Some countries have taken proactive steps to address these imbalances. In Brazil, the AgênciaNacional de Águas e Saneamento Básico (ANA) established the Comissão Permanente de Equidade de Gênero in 2016 to implement the National Policy Plan for Women. This initiative aimed to eliminate gender inequalities in water access and management by promoting women’s participation in decision-making roles. As a result, strategies were introduced to increase women’s leadership representation and improve gender equality in water governance. Costa Rica has been a pioneer in integrating gender into water policy. The 2021 Gender Equality Policy by the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos(ARESEP) ensures equal access to public services and decision-making for women. In early 2025, ARESEP reported having trained 1,895 women on their rights as users of public services. The training included guidance on how to file complaints with service providers, interpret water and electricity bills, understand the conditions for service disconnection and navigate other practical procedures. These efforts are part of ARESEP’s broader gender policy. In collaboration with the National Institute for Women, ARESEP has signed a memorandum of understanding to advance gender-sensitive regulation of public services and to safeguard women’s rights.

Women are often at the forefront of environmental and territorial defence movements across Latin America and the Caribbean, playing a critical role in the protection of ecosystems, traditional knowledge and community well-being. Yet, their leadership frequently places them in dangerous and highly vulnerable positions. Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most dangerous regions in the world for environmental and land defenders. Of the 200 defenders killed in 2021 across the world, 20 of those were women, 16 of whom lived in Latin America and the Caribbean. This disproportionate impact highlights the risks faced by women defenders and also the profound loss to communities who rely on their leadership, ancestral knowledge and cultural practices. Women environmental defenders are not only protectors of land and water – they are also custodians of heritage and sustainability for future generations. In response to these risks and the urgent need to support women environmental defenders, various initiatives across the region have begun to strengthen women’s roles in water and environmental governance at all levels. The example from Chocó in Colombia illustrates a prominent subnational-level project. At the regional level, a key example is the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and theCaribbean.  

Mainstreaming gender equality into water policy in Latin America and the Caribbean is feasible and transformative; however, it is moving at a slow rate with insufficient scaling up. Women – particularly those in rural and Indigenous communities – play a vital yet often unrecognized role in water access, management and environmental stewardship. When supported through inclusive policies and programmes, their leadership can contribute to more equitable and sustainable water governance. Nonetheless, persistent structural barriers remain. Limited access to safe WASH services, unequal land and resource ownership, and women’s underrepresentation in decision-making roles continue to reinforce gender-based inequalities. The burden of unpaid water-related work particularly restricts women’s opportunities for education, employment and community participation. Promising initiatives exist. They could be replicated by considering the different regional contexts, and scaled and adapted regionally. Recognizing and integrating ancestral and local knowledge, especially of Indigenous communities, is crucial for developing culturally relevant and sustainable water policies. Achieving gender equality in water governance requires systemic change: investment in sex-disaggregated data, removal of institutional obstacles, investing in rural water infrastructure, and greater inclusion of women in water management and other interrelated sectors such as land and technology. These efforts are essential for social justice and also for building resilient, water-secure communities across the region.