Gül Özerol, CSTM/University of Twente, The Netherlands
Leila Harris, University of British Colombia, Canada
Over the past decade, gender-sensitive approaches have made significant contributions to analysing and understanding the policies and politics of water management and governance. These contributions also provide critical insights for improving the theory and practice of water management and governance. Thus, the significance of gender-sensitive approaches is acknowledged in understanding and influencing the decision-making processes in water use, management and governance. Against this background, the objectives of this paper are threefold. First, the multiple meanings that are given to gender within the context of water management and governance will be examined. Second, the key debates on the nexus of gender and water will be discerned by examining theoretical, empirical and methodological implications. Third, the societal and political impacts will be identified that the gendered analysis has made to the practice of water management and governance. Ultimately the paper aims to identify overarching insights on gender-sensitive approaches in water management and governance that can also be relevant for the gender-energy nexus.