WOMEN IN WATER ITALY Gender and water in Italy: women's roles in water decision-making – Preliminary review and framework

This study explores women’s participation in Italy’s water sector – science, agriculture, policy, and governance – addressing a critical gap in national research on gender and water governance. Anchored in feminist Political Ecology, intersectionality issues, and gendered institutions theory, it applies the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) gender-responsive sex-disaggregated indicators to the Italian context for the first time. The preliminary literature reveals persistent gender disparities in the realm of technical professions, decision-making, and policy influence, compounded and exacerbated by regional inequalities and entrenched gender norms of the country. By operationalizing UNESCO WWAP indicators, the study not only contributes to the creation of a methodology but also to the provision of a first questionnaire in order to allow the production of empirical insights into Italy’s gender–water nexus. The paper also offers methodological guidance for integrating gender perspectives into national water policy. This preliminary study provides a foundation for evidence-based interventions that address structural barriers, promote capacity-building, and strengthen institutional accountability in line with European Union (EU) directives and stemming from the UNESCO-led international “Call for Action for the Advancement of Gender Studies and Promotion of Women in the Water Sector”. This research builds on the University of Bergamo participation in the WWAP Coalition for “Accelerating Gender Equality in the Water Domain” and it is funded by the EU-Marie Skłodowska Curie Action “JustWATER”.