What is it about?
This review brings together 257 research articles to synthesize evidence on water and sanitation and women’s and girls’ empowerment. Leveraging an existing conceptual model of empowerment, the review describes evidence on 16 different sub-domains of empowerment. The review confirms that research water and sanitation research that engages empowerment and related domains is extensive and growing. Yet clear conceptualization of empowerment remains limited, negative impacts of water and sanitation are myriad, and investment and action to improve the water and sanitation experiences of women and girls is warranted and long overdue.
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Why is it important?
* This review is more expansive and rigorous than recent WASH and gender or empowerment-focused reviews. * Presents a comprehensive assessment of multiple domains of empowerment, based in an existing model * Provides six actionable research and practice opportunities related to women’s and girls’ empowerment & WASH
Perspectives
This review is incredibly extensive--with additional resources included as supplements--and can serve as an important reference and call to action for researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, and donors working in gender, WASH, and/or empowerment.
Bethany Caruso
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis, PLOS Water, June 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000026.
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