FACTS + FIGURES

THE
CHALLENGES
WOMEN
FACE…

90%

90% of women’s income is generated back into their families and communities as compared to men who reinvest around 30 to 40%. (1)

43%

Women comprise 43% of the agricultural workforce in developing countries, yet they have less access to productive resources and opportunities. (2)

40-80 lbs

Women haul 40-80 lbs (18-36kg) of water home—sometimes repeating this journey several times a day. (3)

55%

55% of the world’s girls are out of school. (4)

40b

In Africa alone, women and girls spend over 40 billion hours per year collecting water. In India, it is estimated that the national cost of women fetching water is equivalent to 150 million workdays each year. (5)

50%

Women produce 50% of the world’s food, but own just 1% of its land. (6)

15

Girls under 15 are twice as likely as boys to collect water—making them vulnerable to attacks and unable to attend school. (7)

$10t

Estimated annual value of women’s unpaid work is $10 trillion – equivalent to 13% of global GDP. (8)

Around the world, women have less access to financial assets such as land and loans. (9)

Projects designed and run with the full participation of women are more sustainable and effective than those that are not. (10)

An increase to a woman’s income achieves the same improvements in children’s nutrition and health as a tenfold increase to a man’s income. (11)

72%

Women are responsible for 72% of water collected and walk for miles each day to fetch enough water for all of their families’ needs. (12)

CITATIONS

  1. UN Women, Progress of the World’s Women 2002, Volume 2: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals, 2002, http://www.unifem.org/materials/item_detail.php?ProductID=10.
  2. FAO 2010 The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-2011 Women in Agriculture, Closing the Gender Gap.
  3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-global-water-cris_b_12450260
  4. World Bank, 2009. Agriculture and Rural Development: Gender in Agriculture Source Book. P15.
  5. UN Water for Life Decade 2005-2015
  6. FAO 2010 The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-2011 Women in Agriculture, Closing the Gender Gap.
  7. http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/gender.shtml
  8. https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development/people/gender-equality/women-s-economic-empowerment/unpaid-care.html
  9. FAO, 2011, Rural Women’s Access to Financial Services
  10. Water and Sanitation Program (WSP). (2000). Linking Sustainability with Demand, Gender and Poverty: A study in community-managed water supply projects in 15 countries
  11. https://www.cargill.com/sustainability/cocoa/empowering-women
  12. http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures

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