What Is International Women’s Day and Why Is It Important?
International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8, is a global day recognizing the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women while advocating for gender equality. It’s a time to celebrate progress, raise awareness of ongoing challenges, and drive action toward a more inclusive world.
Water is life—but for millions of women and girls worldwide, it is also a daily burden. In two out of three households worldwide, women and girls are primarily responsible for collecting water for their families1, often walking long distances each day to fetch it. This exhausting and time-consuming task robs them of opportunities for education, employment, and leadership roles, restricting their potential.
The climate crisis is making this burden even heavier. Droughts, floods, and extreme weather events are depleting water sources, forcing women to travel even farther for clean water. In some regions, climate-induced water shortages lead to food insecurity, displacement, and even increased gender-based violence, as competition for scarce resources intensifies.
The world has made unprecedented advances, but no country has achieved gender equality. This is why we are working worldwide to increase the involvement of women and girls in water and sanitation management, challenge social norms, and amplify the voices of all women—particularly those facing systemic barriers to success.
How Is the One Drop Foundation Participating?
At One Drop, part of our commitment to providing sustainable access to safe water is about ensuring that women and girls are at the forefront of positive change through their participation in water governance, community-led behaviour change initiatives, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Access; Behaviour change; Capital. These elements make up our A•B•C for Sustainability™ model. The combined power of these three components makes our projects sustainable by creating an enabling environment for positive change and helping communities reach their full potential.
Learn more about our mission and impact in our latest Impact Report.
Subscribing to the newsletter is a great way to keep informed about our projects.
1.WHO and UNICEF. Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: Special focus on gender
