Women in leadership positions in rural water, sanitation, and hygiene committees: enhancing water system performance and sustainability in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, as in many other countries, women are often responsible for fetching water for domestic use. Despite government and NGO encouragement, women's participation in community Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committees (WASHCOs) remains limited. The objective of this study was to assess the association between women's participation in WASHCO leadership positions and water scheme management and functionality. A total of 1,175 water schemes with WASHCOs were surveyed using the mWater application in East and West Belesa of the Central Gondar zone of Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Data were collected from January to February 2024. Of the surveyed WASHCOs, 49% (n = 573) had women in leadership positions, while 602 WASHCOs had no women (all men) in leadership. Among the water schemes managed by WASHCOs with women in leadership positions, 73% were functional, compared with 67% of schemes managed by men WASHCOs. This difference was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05; two-tailed chi-square test). For other indicators associated with water scheme functionality: good committee governance, availability of an operation and maintenance budget, preventive maintenance and regular frequency of committee meetings were significantly more likely to be observed among WASHCOs with women in leadership positions than among WASHCOs all men in the leadership position. These findings highlight the association between women's participation in community leadership and improved water scheme management and functionality. Advocacy efforts are needed to not only improve the gender balance in WASHCOs but also the openness and acceptance of women's essential contributions in these spaces.