Transforming gender relations through water, sanitation, and hygiene programming and monitoring in Vietnam.
Open accessAbstract
This article presents the results of empirical research conducted in Central Vietnam in 2016 into water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) initiatives. It uncovered changes in gender relations and power dynamics at both household and community levels, aiming to explore the extent to which both practical and strategic interests of women can be influenced and changed by WASH policies and programming. In particular, we were interested in assessing the impact of a Gender and WASH Monitoring Tool (GWMT), developed by Plan International Australia and Plan Vietnam, on women’s strategic gender needs. In this article, we discuss the types of changes reported by women and men of different ages and ethnicities and the reasons for their occurrence. There were a wide range of reported reasons for change, with implications for our understanding of the relationship between changes in gender relations at the household and community levels. We also consider the relationship between wider shifts in social norms in the context of rural Vietnam. The Vietnam research highlights the roles that WASH initiatives can play in furthering strategic gender needs and hence promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. It also shows the importance of addressing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 (on gender equality) and SDG 6 (on water and sanitation) together.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Trainings, information, and technical knowledge provided to women have contributed to the improvement of communication between men and women and led to women having a voice in household and community decision-making.
“Trainings, information, and technical knowledge provided to women have contributed to the improvement of communication between men and women and led to women having a voice in household and community decision-making [26,58,75,129].”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
Improved self-confidence, including willingness to speak up, was reported regarding women's participation in WASH programs and campaigns in India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam; women in India reported improvements in self-confidence, dignity, and work and life circumstances due to improvements in water supply; and in Indonesia, some women reported feeling confident to challenge traditional gender roles
“Improved self-confidence, including willingness to speak up, was reported regarding women's participation in WASH programs and campaigns in India, [89,139,145] Sri Lanka, [56] and Vietnam [58].Women in India reported improvements in self-confidence, dignity, and work and life circumstances due to improvements in water supply [129,279].In Indonesia, some women reported feeling confident to”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
The introduction of piped water resulted in women doing all the clothes washing, instead of sharing responsibility, in Vietnam.
“Water initiatives have increased expectations and work for women: the introduction of piped water resulted in women having to fetch water for their husband's bathing needs (India) [279] and doing all the clothes washing, instead of sharing responsibility (Vietnam) [58].”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
Water initiatives have increased expectations and work for women.
“Water initiatives have increased expectations and work for women: the introduction of piped water resulted in women having to fetch water for their husband's bathing needs (India) [279] and doing all the clothes washing, instead of sharing responsibility (Vietnam) [58].”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
In Kenya and Vietnam, initiatives improved relationships in families.
“and in families (Kenya [210] and Vietnam [58]);”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
WASH programming in Vietnam provided knowledge and skills, which women reported improved their decisionmaking, public participation, and relations.
“WASH programming in Vietnam provided knowledge and skills, which women reported improved their decisionmaking, public participation, and relations [58].”
From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Mobilization without Emancipation? Women's Interests, the State, and Revolution in Nicaragua
Molyneux, M. (1985) · Feminist Studies · doi:10.2307/3177922 · Cited by 1,379 · see citing works
Gender planning in the third world: Meeting practical and strategic gender needs
Moser, C. O. N. (1989) · World Development · doi:10.1016/0305-750x(89)90201-5 · Cited by 1,129 · see citing works
Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice and Training
Moser, C. (2012) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203411940 · Cited by 761 · see citing works
Feminist Visions of Development: Gender Analysis and Policy
Jackson, C., & Pearson, R. (2005) · Cited by 475 · see citing works
The Conditions and Consequences of Choice: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment
Kabeer, N. (1999) · Cited by 270 · see citing works
The 2030 Agenda: challenges of implementation to attain gender equality and women's rights
Razavi, S. (2016) · Gender & Development · doi:10.1080/13552074.2016.1142229 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Combining sanitation and women’s participation in water supply: An example from Rajasthan.
O'Reilly, K. (2010) · Development in Practice · doi:10.1080/09614520903436976 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
The effects of water shortages on health and human development
Tarrass, F., & Benjelloun, M. C. (2011) · Perspectives in Public Health · doi:10.1177/1757913910391040 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Does Increased Water Access Empower Women?
Ivens, S. (2008) · Development · doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100458 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Women in water supply, sanitation and hygiene programmes
Fisher, J. (2008) · Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Municipal Engineer · doi:10.1680/muen.2008.161.4.223 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Kemerink-Seyoum, J. S., Méndez‐Barrientos, L. E., Ahlers, R., Wester, P., & van der Zaag, P. (2012) · Water Policy · doi:10.2166/wp.2012.127 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
A framework for exploring gender equality outcomes from WASH programmes
Carrard, N., Crawford, J. C. J., Halcrow, G., Rowland, C., & Willetts, J. (2013) · Waterlines · doi:10.3362/1756-3488.2013.033 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Self-citationAddressing two critical MDGs together: gender in water, sanitation and hygiene initiative
Willetts, J., Halcrow, G., Carrard, N., Rowland, C., & Crawford, J. (2010) · ANU Open Research (Australian National University) · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Self-citationFrom practical to strategic changes: Strengthening gender in WASH. Final research report
Leahy, C., Winterford, K., Kelleher, J., Leong, L. H., Nghiem, T. T., Hoa, N., & Willetts, J. (2016) · UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Thomas, E. (2015) 'Review of the Gender WASH Monitoring Tool (GWMT), Final Report', Plan Vietnam and Plan Australia
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A Systematic Review of Water and Gender Interlinkages: Assessing the Intersection With Health
Pouramin, P., Nagabhatla, N., & Miletto, M. (2020) · Frontiers in Water · doi:10.3389/frwa.2020.00006 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis
Caruso, B. A., Conrad, A., Patrick, M., Owens, A., Kviten, K., Zarella, O., Rogers, H., & Sinharoy, S. S. (2022) · PLOS Water · doi:10.1371/journal.pwat.0000026 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Understanding empowerment in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH): a scoping review
Dery, F., Bisung, E., Dickin, S., & Dyer, M. (2020) · Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · doi:10.2166/washdev.2019.077 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
MacArthur, J., Carrard, N., & Willetts, J. (2020) · Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · doi:10.2166/washdev.2020.232 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Self-citation“Tourism, water, and gender”—An international review of an unexplored nexus
Cole, S., Cañada, E., Ma, Y., & Sandang, Y. (2020) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water · doi:10.1002/wat2.1442 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Carrard, N., MacArthur, J., Leahy, C., Soeters, S., & Willetts, J. (2022) · Women s Studies International Forum · doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2022.102563 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Self-citationMacArthur, J., Carrard, N., Mott, J., Raetz, S., Siscawati, M., & Willetts, J. (2023) · Frontiers in Water · doi:10.3389/frwa.2023.1090002 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Self-citationSinharoy, S. S., Conrad, A., Patrick, M., McManus, S., & Caruso, B. A. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053104 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Mental Illness Public Stigma and Generational Differences Among Vietnamese Americans
Do, M., McCleary, J. S., Nguyen, D. J., & Winfrey, K. L. (2020) · Community Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10597-019-00545-y · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Oruganti, P., Root, E. D., Ndlovu, V., Mbhungele, P., Wyk, I. V., & Berrian, A. M. (2023) · PLOS Global Public Health · doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0001167 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Hill, C. L., McCain, K., Nyathi, M. E., Edokpayi, J. N., Kahler, D. M., Operario, D. J., Taylor, D. D. J., Wright, N. C., Smith, J. A., Guerrant, R. L., et al. (2020) · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.20-0228 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Women and WASH in Nepal: a scoping review of existing literature
Wali, N., Georgeou, N., Simmons, O., Gautam, M. S., & Gurung, S. (2020) · Water International · doi:10.1080/02508060.2020.1754564 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Water and sanitation for all: Citizen science, health equity, and urban climate justice
Corburn, J. (2022) · Environment and Planning B Urban Analytics and City Science · doi:10.1177/23998083221094836 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Basnet, S., & Hoque, M. M. (2022) · Journal of Women Politics & Policy · doi:10.1080/1554477x.2022.2115281 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Robinson, H. J., Barrington, D., Evans, B., Hutchings, P., & Narayanaswamy, L. (2023) · Development Policy Review · doi:10.1111/dpr.12741 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
MacArthur, J., Chase, R. P., Gonzalez, D., Kozole, T., Nicoletti, C., Toeur, V., Willetts, J., & SNV Beyond the Finish Line Team (2024) · PLOS Water · doi:10.1371/journal.pwat.0000233 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationA Structured Review of Emotional Barriers to WASH Provision for Schoolgirls Post-Disaster
Royo, M. G., Parrott, E., Pacheco, E.-M., Ahmed, I., Meilianda, E., Kumala, I. D., Oktari, R. S., Joffé, H., & Parikh, P. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su14042471 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Are piped water services reaching poor households? Empirical evidence from rural Viet Nam
Carrard, N., Madden, B. J., Chong, J., Grant, M., Nghiem, T. P., Bui, L., Hà, H. T. T., & Willetts, J. (2019) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2019.01.026 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Self-citationBisung, E., & Dickin, S. (2021) · Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · doi:10.2166/washdev.2021.039 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Moscoso, A. M., & Ortiz, A. A. (2020) · FORO Revista de Derecho · doi:10.32719/26312484.2020.34.4 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Nelson, S., Abímbọ́lá, Ṣ., Mangubhai, S., Jenkins, A., Jupiter, S. D., Naivalu, K., Naivalulevu, V., & Negin, J. (2021) · International Journal of Water Resources Development · doi:10.1080/07900627.2021.1916449 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Macura, B., Duca, L. D., Soto, A., Carrard, N., Gosling, L., Hannes, K., Thomas, J., Sara, L., Sommer, M., Waddington, H. S., et al. (2021) · Campbell Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/cl2.1164 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Water, sanitation, and intimate partner violence: Insights from Kibra Slums, Nairobi
Ombija, S. O., Wao, H., & Esho, T. C. (2024) · Journal of Global Health · doi:10.7189/jogh.14.04141 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Eaton, J., Krishna, A., Sudi, C., George, J., Magomba, C., Eckman, A., Houck, F., & Taukobong, H. F. G. (2021) · Frontiers in Sociology · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2021.672989 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Lebel, L., Aung, N., Long, C. T. M., Siharath, P., Lebel, P., Hap, N., Hoanh, C. T., & Lebel, B. (2022) · Environmental Management · doi:10.1007/s00267-022-01616-9 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Dery, F., Bisung, E., Dickin, S., & Atengdem, J. (2021) · H2Open Journal · doi:10.2166/h2oj.2021.100 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Menstruation-Related Symptoms and Associated Factors among Female University Students in Vietnam
Matsuura, Y., Tran, N. H., Nguyen, B. T., Phan, Q. N., Nguyen, K. T., & Yasui, T. (2024) · Youth · doi:10.3390/youth4010024 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Socio-ecological barriers to women's empowerment in sanitation in Eastern Indonesia
Dwipayanti, N. M. U., Kurnianingsih, I. D. K. D. S., Mustafa, A., Nastiti, A., Daniel, D., Kowara, M., & Savitri, I. G. A. D. (2025) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2025.103554 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Butt, A. P., Remme, J., Rost, L. A., & Koissy-Kpein, S. A. (2018) · doi:10.21201/2017.1725 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
A Review of Sanitation Options and Programming in Ghana, West Africa
Baldwin, G., Kan-uge, E., & Stwalley, R. M., III (2024) · Water · doi:10.3390/w16213085 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Water-related sustainable development goal accelerators: A rapid review
Taing, L., Dang, N., Agarwal, M., & Glickman, T. (2021) · Water Security · doi:10.1016/j.wasec.2021.100100 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
MacArthur, J., Carrard, N., Toeur, V., Kozole, T., & Willetts, J. (2022) · Evaluation · doi:10.1177/13563890221105537 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationGender and social outcomes of WASH interventions: synthesis of research evidence
Macura, B., Dickin, S., Waddington, H. S., Liera, C., Soto, A., Orlando, A., Foggitt, E., Pross, C., McArthur, J., Fadhila, A., et al. (2023) · doi:10.51744/cswp7 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Dickin, S., Siddique, S., Liera, C., Dupont, G., & Bisung, E. (2025) · International Journal of Water Resources Development · doi:10.1080/07900627.2025.2505867 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Doma, R., Patrick, M., Conrad, A., Ramanarayanan, V., Arun, S., Sinharoy, S. S., & Caruso, B. A. (2023) · Frontiers in Water · doi:10.3389/frwa.2023.1048772 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Vicario, E. F., Annis, J., Namakula, P., Kasozi, G. K., & Mihelcic, J. R. (2023) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.3c04125 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
'We are all women here in Canada': Intimate bargains in WASH spaces
Nunbogu, A. M., Elliott, S. J., & Walton‐Roberts, M. (2023) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116343 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Exploring the Interwoven Pathways of Water Sustainability and Poverty: Insights From a 2SLS Analysis
Redhu, S., & Jain, P. (2025) · World Water Policy · doi:10.1002/wwp2.70006 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
WASHed in stereotypes: A rigorous review of water-gender narratives in LMICs
Kolipaka, S., Hutchings, P., & Mdee, A. L. (2026) · PLOS Water · doi:10.1371/journal.pwat.0000384 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Baldwin, G., McPheron, T. J., Horn, Z. J., & Stwalley, R. M., III (2023) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.109576 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Berhanu, E. G. (2026) · African Evaluation Journal · doi:10.4102/aej.v14i2.867 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Adam, H. M., Azmerawu, A., & Awoke, S. (2022) · HUMANISMA Journal of Gender Studies · doi:10.30983/humanisme.v6i1.5228
Walther, A., Shaheen, A. A., Zubeidat, H., Shakhshir, G., & Hajat, S. (2025) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph22020187
MacArthur, J., Basnet, M. P., Budhathoki, R., Chhetri, A., Yadav, A., & Willetts, J. (2025) · Development Studies Research · doi:10.1080/21665095.2025.2594945
Self-citationDhanusk, K., Devkota, N., Khanal, G., Byanjankar, R., & Danuwar, R. K. (2026) · Urban Water Journal · doi:10.1080/1573062x.2026.2618690
Sethy, M., & Sahoo, D. M. (2026) · Discover Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12982-026-02666-8
- Authors
- Leahy, C., Winterford, K., Nghiem, T., Kelleher, J., Leong, L., & Willetts, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Technology Sydney (AU)
- VNU Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (VN)
- Corresponding author
- Leahy, Caitlin
- Venue
- Gender & Development
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-05-04
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 283-301
- ISSN
- 1355-2074 (ISSN-L)
- 1364-9221
- OpenAlex
- W2736219285
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 9.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Gender & Development (publishedVersion)
- UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Gender, Education, and Development Issues
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Water Resource Management and Quality
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Studies and Social Issues
- Keywords
- water, sanitation and hygiene, gender relations, women's empowerment, gender equality, power relations, social norms, rural Vietnam, Sustainable Development Goal 5, SDG 6
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
