Water, Women and the World
The Give to Gain International Women’s Day 2026 campaign is a time for reflection and new beginnings. With the safe arrival of our first granddaughter in March 2026, I feel inspired to think about global stewardship, gender equity, Mother Earth, women, and water. These are important themes recognized by the United Nations, World Health Organization, Red Cross International, and Public Health Canada. Together, they give hope for more compassionate global health policies.
March encourages us to think about International Women’s Day and World Water Day. Both topics ask us to carefully consider how global problems might lead to fairer representation of women and Indigenous ways of thinking.
The theme for World Water Day 2026 is ‘Water and Gender,’ with the slogan “Where water flows, equality grows.” This theme highlights how the water crisis affects women and girls the most and underscores their key role in managing water, leading, and making decisions.
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- Globally, over 1 billion women (27.1%) lack access to safely managed drinking water. (UN Women/UNDESA, 2023)
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- 1.8 billion people still lack on-premises drinking water, and in 2 out of 3 households, women are primarily responsible for water collection. (WHO/UNICEF, 2023)
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- In 53 countries with available data, women and girls spend 250 million hours per day on water collection – over three times as many as men and boys. (UN Women/UNDESA, 2024)
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- Globally, unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene are responsible for the deaths of around 1,000 children under five every day. (WHO, 2023)
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- About 14% of countries still have no mechanisms to ensure women can participate equally in water-related decision-making and water management. (UNEP-DHI, GWP, UN Women, 2025)
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- The global water crisis affects everyone—but not in the same way. When people do not have the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, unfairness grows, and women and girls are affected the most. It is crucial to focus on women and girls when seeking water solutions.
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- Women must help shape the future of water. Water services need to handle the effects of climate change and serve everyone’s needs. We need a powerful, rights-focused way to solve the water crisis that fully values women’s voices, leadership, and power to act.
Indigenous Arts & Stories spotlights a 2017 writing winner, K. Dawn Martin’s Kahnekanoron-Water is Life. This 2017 award-winning poem captures the call to action that women must be included in designing sustainable solutions.
The author, K. Dawn Martin, shares, ‘I wanted to honour our women warriors, our Yethi’nistenha ohwentslake our Mother The Earth, and water. As a woman, I’ve been taught that we are the water carriers and there is a responsibility in that. We, as women, have the ability to bring new life into this world, just as our Mother, the Earth, does. Water truly connects all of creation, and what happens to the waters happens to us as a human race.’
This poem is in three parts: water and creation, water and women, treaty making, and where we are today.
http://www.our-story.ca/winners/writing/5989:kahnekanoron-water-is-life#story
The International Women’s Day 2026 Give To Gain Campaign focuses on the theme: Where water flows, equality grows. It supports kindness and working together as ways to create lasting change.
Give To Gain uses the idea of giving and receiving, sharing the belief that when we support women, communities do better. By following ‘Where water flows, equality grows,’ we create more chances for everyone.
Where water flows, equality grows. When women and girls have an equal say in water decisions, services become fairer, more sustainable, and more effective. We must support women’s leadership to make water a power for a healthier, richer, and gender-equal future that helps everyone.
Whether through donations, knowledge, resources, buildings, attention, speaking up, education, training, mentoring, leadership, or time, helping women move forward creates a more caring and connected world.
Together, let’s move gender equality forward through the Give To Gain idea: Where water flows, equality grows. Choose how you will help—whether with time, resources, speaking up, or leading—and show great kindness for gender equality. What will you Give to Gain for a fairer world?
The Government of Canada has been striving to advance equality since 1995, celebrating 30 years of progress. A call to action to local decision-makers may be required.
Compassion in Action:
Any help to speed up work on equality and caring for water to protect our shared environment is welcome. The time is now. What is in your wheelhouse to take action on?
K. Dawn Martin (2017). Indigenous Arts & Stories. Historica Canada.
http://www.our-story.ca/winners/writing/5989:kahnekanoron-water-is-life
Government of Canada (2025). Gender-Based Analysis Timeline and Milestones (1995-2025).
