SODIS not only provides clean drinking water, but also has the potential for significant social impact. In many communities, access to clean water can directly affect unpaid work, especially for women.

In many developing countries, traditional gender roles heavily influence women’s ability to get fulltime work outside of the unpaid role of taking care of their families and household.

Every day, women around the world spend a collective 200 million hours collecting safe drinking water for their families.

A diagram of women lining up for water. A bucket is using the water from planet earth to demonstrate water scarcity

The time it takes for women to complete unpaid tasks like water collection often prevents them from being able to have a job, even though they may want to develop their career.

A diagram of women collecting water off of the back of a truck. In the background, other women carry empty bottles to fill water from a tap

People often have to stand in long lines, walk great distances, or pay high fees to obtain water.

Watch the video below to learn more about gender inequity in traditional gender roles.

“The chores of the day, kill the dreams of a lifetime.” – Melinda Gates Time poverty: The gender gap no one’s talking about

THINK-PAIR-SHARE

With a partner, think about the relationship between clean water and unpaid work.

  • What are other examples of unpaid work?
    • Based on your experience, do they influence one gender more than others?
  • How can clean drinking water help lessen the unpaid work for everyone around the globe?