Within its areas of responsibility, the Single Guarantee Committee (CUG) adopts an intersectional approach to gender and works towards achieving the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In addition to supporting Goal 5 – Gender Equality and Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities, the Committee is also committed to Goal 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation. Although gender and water may appear to be unrelated topics, they are in fact closely connected. At the intersection of these two issues lie the right to water and the role of women in water resource management. Women are responsible for collecting water in 80% of households without direct access, with significant consequences for their access to education and participation in the labour market. The connection between gender and water is rooted in the principle of self-determination, which enables women’s economic independence and access to education by eliminating gender discrimination and inequalities.
The CUG has collaborated with Professor Viviana Re from the Department of Earth Sciences, an expert in this field, and with the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) to establish the international Water & Gender Workshop. Held every two years, the workshop explores the multidimensional relationship between gender and water through the involvement of institutions, international organizations, NGOs, and both public and private sector organizations.
The 2025 edition of the workshop was organized around the following five thematic sessions:
- Gender-equal funding – Integrating gender equality principles into funding schemes that promote women’s leadership, protect women’s water rights, and avoid reliance on the unpaid work of women and girls in securing and managing water resources.
- Policy instruments for inclusion and equality in water – Bridging the persistent gap between policy and practice in the water sector by ensuring that gender equality policies and effective implementation mechanisms are in place.
- Women’s leadership, participation, and decision-making in water – Promoting women’s leadership and meaningful participation through education and capacity-building initiatives.
- Inclusive access, use, and management of water – Challenging social norms and stereotypes that negatively affect access to water, its use, and inclusive decision-making processes.
- Gender equality and the data gap – Promoting the collection, analysis, and use of sex-disaggregated water datato inform water policies through appropriate gender-responsive indicators.
Program
Committees
Workshop Chairs
- Viviana Re (University of Pisa)
- Laura Imburgia (UNESCO-WWAP)
Organizing Committee
University of Pisa:
Viviana Re, Karen Gariboldi, Elena Amalia Ferioli (Department of Earth Sciences), Francesca Pecori (Office for Equality and Differences), Arianna Del Monte (Research Fellow, Single Guarantee Committee – CUG)
UNESCO-WWAP:
Laura Imburgia, Epifania Amoo-Addare, Teresa Ligouri
Scientific Committee
- Michela Miletto (UNESCO-WWAP)
- Elena Dundovich (University of Pisa)
- Elisabetta Orlandini (University of Pisa)
- Renata Pepicelli (University of Pisa)
- Giulia Romano (University of Pisa)
- Alice Aureli (former UNESCO IHP, retired)
- Anna Brusarosco (University of Udine)
- Enrica Caporali (University of Florence)
- Maria Donoso (Florida International University, FIU)
- Francesca Greco (University of Bergamo)
- Maria Teresa Gutierrez (former ILO, retired, independent expert)
- Fabiola Sosa Rodriguez (Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico)
- Gianni Zanchetta (University of Pisa)