Women Carrying Water
Strength and number of women faculty set Rollins Center for Global Safe WASH apart
Where are the women?
Dr. Sheela Sinharoy 17G asked herself that in October 2016 at her first water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conference in Chapel Hill, N.C. She felt out of place, which never happened within her field of nutrition and health sciences.
At the coffee table between sessions, Sinharoy looked for someone who looked like her. “I personally feel safer going up to a woman, and I realized that I had to actively look for a woman to talk to,” recalls the assistant professor of global health. “I never would have had to do that at a nutrition conference.” And she needed to look no further than the conference presentations to see that women and girls were left out of most WASH research.
Her experience reflected the historical disconnect in WASH research: the people doing it don’t look like the biggest stakeholders. WASH research began in engineering, when that field was dominated by men. Their studies and interventions often missed or neglected women’s concerns—and those are significant, given that women and girls worldwide are doing the washing, cleaning, caring for children, and preparing food. Each day worldwide UNICEF estimates women and girls spend 200 million hours collecting water. In some countries, women and girls experience restrictions on where and when they can defecate.
Rollins is addressing those concerns. Sinharoy is among seven female core faculty researchers at the only academic WASH center headed by a woman. They are teaching and leading research that centers women and gender in solving persistent issues of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. Many are balancing their careers with raising their own children, deepening their connection to families around the world, including those who struggle to secure safe water and sanitation.
“Of course we have outstanding male researchers in our center who have made significant contributions to the field,” says Dr. Christine Moe, director of the Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene at Emory (CGSW). “What is unique about RSPH is that we have a large cadre of women scientists working on a range of WASH research, and this puts us in an especially strong position to address gender-related aspects of WASH.
“Women approach things differently,” continues Moe. “It’s critical to bring women’s perspective into WASH challenges, whether it’s access or whether it’s the outcomes that impact women. It just makes a huge difference.”
At the coffee table between sessions, Sinharoy looked for someone who looked like her. “I personally feel safer going up to a woman, and I realized that I had to actively look for a woman to talk to,” recalls the assistant professor of global health. “I never would have had to do that at a nutrition conference.” And she needed to look no further than the conference presentations to see that women and girls were left out of most WASH research.
Her experience reflected the historical disconnect in WASH research: the people doing it don’t look like the biggest stakeholders. WASH research began in engineering, when that field was dominated by men. Their studies and interventions often missed or neglected women’s concerns—and those are significant, given that women and girls worldwide are doing the washing, cleaning, caring for children, and preparing food. Each day worldwide UNICEF estimates women and girls spend 200 million hours collecting water. In some countries, women and girls experience restrictions on where and when they can defecate.
Rollins is addressing those concerns. Sinharoy is among seven female core faculty researchers at the only academic WASH center headed by a woman. They are teaching and leading research that centers women and gender in solving persistent issues of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. Many are balancing their careers with raising their own children, deepening their connection to families around the world, including those who struggle
to secure safe water and sanitation.
“Of course we have outstanding male researchers in our center who have made significant contributions to the field,” says Dr. Christine Moe, director of the Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene at Emory (CGSW). “What is unique about RSPH is that we have a large cadre of women scientists working on a range of WASH research, and this puts us in an especially strong position to address gender-related aspects of WASH.
“Women approach things differently,” continues Moe. “It’s critical to bring women’s perspective into WASH challenges, whether it’s access or whether it’s the outcomes that impact women. It just makes a huge difference.”
Rising above the glass ceiling of WASH
Moe recalls getting her master’s and doctorate in the 1980s at the University of North Carolina, a leading WASH research institution, where all but one of her professors were men. “They were mainly engineers, chemists, microbiologists,” she says. “It does make a difference when the professors are men. As an example, never, ever in my graduate school did anybody mention menstrual hygiene management.”
Moe honed in on how infectious diseases that are foodborne and waterborne, such as noroviruses, are transmitted through the environment. In her global field work, she paid attention to how women and girls were affected by water, sanitation, and hygiene in field research in low-resource countries. “When I study public and household sanitation systems overseas, I always try to ask women if they are satisfied with their sanitation facility. It is critical to hear their perspective,” explains Moe. “I have shown women in Senegal photos of the septic tank at my house to help build connection and make the point that this is a sanitation solution that I use also.”
Moe’s stature in WASH rose in part because she found a champion for her work at Rollins in the 1990s—Dr. Eugene Gangarosa. A pioneer in the field, Gangarosa established the school’s WASH center, as well as endowing several chairs. He and his wife Rose were honored for his vast contributions to the field and the school when his department was named the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health.
Gangarosa always appreciated women’s influence in households. The Hubert Department of Global Health Emeritus Professor “would talk about how household water treatment allowed the homemaker to provide cleaner, safer water for her family,” recalls Moe, the Eugene J. Gangarosa Chair of Safe Water and Sanitation.
“The term ‘homemaker’ is from Dr. G’s generation, and it was his recognition of the pivotal role that women play in trying to provide clean water for their families—and how they also were the ones that were responsible for taking care of their children who had cholera, the area he worked in.”
As a child in Sicily, Gangarosa had seen that firsthand: four of his mother’s first five children died of childhood infectious illnesses related to unsafe water that she had to fetch and to unsanitary conditions from animals living too close to the family. Starting with a landmark 1959 study of the pathophysiology of cholera, his career focused on intestinal infections, and his early work helped lead to the development of oral rehydration therapy, which is credited with saving millions of lives.
Christine Moe is the only woman to lead an academic WASH center. She is pictured above with Eugene Gangarosa and his wife Rose. Gangarosa, a pioneer in the field of WASH, mentored Moe and recommended that she apply for a faculty position at RSPH in 2000. In her own research, Moe has been testing wastewater from vulnerable areas of Atlanta for SARS-CoV-2, helping the CDC develop a national wastewater surveillance system to better track COVID-19 in underserved communities.
Christine Moe is the only woman to lead an academic WASH center. She is pictured above with Eugene Gangarosa and his wife Rose. Gangarosa, a pioneer in the field of WASH, mentored Moe and recommended that she apply for a faculty position at RSPH in 2000. In her own research, Moe has been testing wastewater from vulnerable areas of Atlanta for SARS-CoV-2, helping the CDC develop a national wastewater surveillance system to better track COVID-19 in underserved communities.
Today the Center for Global Safe WASH at Emory is a consortium of researchers, implementers, educators, and representatives from other sectors who work individually and together. “In Atlanta, there were all of these groups like the CDC, CARE, The Carter Center, Georgia Tech, and later the Task Force for Global Health that worked on different aspects of WASH and health, and it was Dr. G who brought them together,” says Moe, who joined the Rollins faculty in 2000.
With this foundation, Rollins became the only school of public health to offer a WASH certificate starting in 2012. And as water, sanitation, and hygiene issues received growing attention—specifically promoted by UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 (“securing availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”)—Rollins researchers were making gender a more prominent topic. In 2019, Rollins women researchers and alumnae headlined a University of North Carolina Water and Health Conference symposium dedicated to closing the gender gap. They had spent years pushing the spotlight to how women and girls are not only instrumental in WASH but can also be empowered by it.
Moe; Sinharoy; Dr. Bethany A. Caruso 09MPH 15G, assistant professor of global health; Dr. Joanne McGriff, assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion; Sarah Durry 18G; and Allison Salinger 18MPH were recently awarded an inaugural Women of Emory Impact Circle Grant. They plan to use the award to develop a robust online leadership training curriculum, a virtual global network of professional WASH women, and mentoring opportunities that can serve the Emory community of WASH faculty, staff, and students and provide connections to women WASH professionals all over the world.
“We realize that it is not enough to have ‘a seat at the table.’ Women also need to have a voice and be decision makers in the WASH sector, and that requires training, networking, and mentorship,” says Moe.
Moe recalls getting her master’s and doctorate in the 1980s at the University of North Carolina, a leading WASH research institution, where all but one of her professors were men. “They were mainly engineers, chemists, microbiologists,” she says. “It does make a difference when the professors are men. As an example, never, ever in my graduate school did anybody mention menstrual hygiene management.”
Moe honed in on how infectious diseases that are foodborne and waterborne, such as noroviruses, are transmitted through the environment. In her global field work, she paid attention to how women and girls were affected by water, sanitation, and hygiene in field research in low-resource countries. “When I study public and household sanitation systems overseas, I always try to ask women if they are satisfied with their sanitation facility. It is critical to hear their perspective,” explains Moe. “I have shown women in Senegal photos of the septic tank at my house to help build connection and make the point that this is a sanitation solution that I use also.”
Christine Moe, director of the Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene at Emory.
Christine Moe, director of the Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene at Emory.
Moe’s stature in WASH rose in part because she found a champion for her work at Rollins in the 1990s—Dr. Eugene Gangarosa. A pioneer in the field, Gangarosa established the school’s WASH center, as well as endowing several chairs. He and his wife Rose were honored for his vast contributions to the field and the school when his department was named the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health.
Gangarosa always appreciated women’s influence in households. The Hubert Department of Global Health Emeritus Professor “would talk about how household water treatment allowed the homemaker to provide cleaner, safer water for her family,” recalls Moe, the Eugene J. Gangarosa Chair of Safe Water and Sanitation.
“The term ‘homemaker’ is from Dr. G’s generation, and it was his recognition of the pivotal role that women play in trying to provide clean water for their families—and how they also were the ones that were responsible for taking care of their children who had cholera, the area he worked in.”
As a child in Sicily, Gangarosa had seen that firsthand: four of his mother’s first five children died of childhood infectious illnesses related to unsafe water that she had to fetch and to unsanitary conditions from animals living too close to the family. Starting with a landmark 1959 study of the pathophysiology of cholera, his career focused on intestinal infections, and his early work helped lead to the development of oral rehydration therapy, which is credited with saving millions of lives.
Christine Moe is the only woman to lead an academic WASH center. She is pictured above with Eugene Gangarosa and his wife Rose. Gangarosa, a pioneer in the field of WASH, mentored Moe and recommended that she apply for a faculty position at RSPH in 2000. In her own research, Moe, right, has been testing wastewater from vulnerable areas of Atlanta for SARS-CoV-2, helping the CDC develop a national wastewater surveillance system to better track COVID-19 in underserved communities.
Christine Moe is the only woman to lead an academic WASH center. She is pictured above with Eugene Gangarosa and his wife Rose. Gangarosa, a pioneer in the field of WASH, mentored Moe and recommended that she apply for a faculty position at RSPH in 2000. In her own research, Moe, right, has been testing wastewater from vulnerable areas of Atlanta for SARS-CoV-2, helping the CDC develop a national wastewater surveillance system to better track COVID-19 in underserved communities.
Today the Center for Global Safe WASH at Emory is a consortium of researchers, implementers, educators, and representatives from other sectors who work individually and together. “In Atlanta, there were all of these groups like the CDC, CARE, The Carter Center, Georgia Tech, and later the Task Force for Global Health that worked on different aspects of WASH and health, and it was Dr. G who brought them together,” says Moe, who joined the Rollins faculty in 2000.
With this foundation, Rollins became the only school of public health to offer a WASH certificate starting in 2012. And as water, sanitation, and hygiene issues received growing attention—specifically promoted by UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 (“securing availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”)—Rollins researchers were making gender a more prominent topic. In 2019, Rollins women researchers and alumnae headlined a University of North Carolina Water and Health Conference symposium dedicated to closing the gender gap. They had spent years pushing the spotlight to how women and girls are not only instrumental in WASH but can also be empowered by it.
Moe; Sinharoy; Dr. Bethany A. Caruso 09MPH 15G, assistant professor of global health; Dr. Joanne McGriff, assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion; Sarah Durry 18G; and Allison Salinger 18MPH were recently awarded an inaugural Women of Emory Impact Circle Grant. They plan to use the award to develop a robust online leadership training curriculum, a virtual global network of professional WASH women, and mentoring opportunities that can serve the Emory community of WASH faculty, staff, and students and provide connections to women WASH professionals all over the world.
“We realize that it is not enough to have ‘a seat at the table.’ Women also need to have a voice and be decision makers in the WASH sector, and that requires training, networking, and mentorship,” says Moe.
Women’s empowerment matters more when it’s measured
But how is women’s empowerment linked to WASH research? Led by Caruso, Rollins women WASH faculty are assessing what previous research has missed. A team of seven women researchers, including Sinharoy, recently used a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to conduct a systematic review of WASH research. They determined that only minimal research in WASH focuses on improving the life outcomes of women and girls.
“Gender-transformative approaches to challenge and reduce systemic constraints on women’s and girls’ resources and agency are not only warranted but long overdue,” wrote Caruso, a global leader in this field.
No validated survey tools existed to measure women’s empowerment in WASH, which led Caruso and Sinharoy to form and co-lead the MUSE (Measuring Urban Sanitation and Empowerment) project to develop these tools for urban sanitation programs. This type of research contributed to Emory’s recent ranking as most influential institution in women’s empowerment research by Women’s Studies International Forum.
Around one-third of the 47 core faculty members in the Hubert Department of Global Health contribute to this type of research, which focuses on how women can advance their capabilities individually and collectively. These researchers have produced evidence to suggest that empowering women in households and communities has a cascade of benefits for alleviating poverty, improving food security, increasing the health and nutrition of children, and improving women’s own health and well-being.
This shift didn’t just happen. As Caruso got a PhD at Emory, she kept trying to make sex and gender issues noticed in WASH. When she went to the 2011 WASH conference, “I was one of only a few actually presenting data disaggregated by sex,” she recalled. In 2012, she started presenting papers and organizing symposia on sex and gender–focused WASH work, including but not just about menstruation. Likeminded Emory students and alumni joined her.
“Bethany’s really one of the people who is responsible for this explosion of interest among other researchers as well as among WASH practitioners,” says Moe. “The bigger problem of the glass ceiling is still very much there in the WASH sector. It’s one thing to say, ‘Oh, we need more women in a village water committee’ or ‘we need more women involved in WASH decision-making at a local level.’ But, in order to achieve that, you also need more women at the leadership level in the WASH sector—in government, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector.”
Caruso joined the Rollins faculty in 2019 and is an assistant professor of global health with a joint appointment in environmental health and behavioral, social, and health education sciences. The WHO / UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, which monitors global progress toward SDG 6, tapped her to help them understand how to monitor gender-specific progress related to WASH, to lead an effort to identify indicators for global monitoring of gender in WASH, and to do so with broad stakeholder buy-in. “That’s one of the ways that gender is actually getting embedded into global work,” says Caruso.
World Vision also came to her for help designing and evaluating WASH programs in Central America and Africa that will be specifically focused on improving women’s empowerment, safety, and leadership, among other outcomes focused specifically
on women and girls.
“All these outcomes are specifically related to women, and that’s not something that we’ve seen,” says Caruso. She is seeing the results of years of “banging the drum on the fact that in all these [previous] WASH interventions, nobody’s actually doing anything that specifically aims to improve the life outcomes of women.”
But how is women’s empowerment linked to WASH research? Led by Caruso, Rollins women WASH faculty are assessing what previous research has missed. A team of seven women researchers, including Sinharoy, recently used a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to conduct a systematic review of WASH research. They determined that only minimal research in WASH focuses on improving the life outcomes of women and girls.
“Gender-transformative approaches to challenge and reduce systemic constraints on women’s and girls’ resources and agency are not only warranted but long overdue,” wrote Caruso, a global leader in this field.
Bethany Caruso is a leader in bringing the issues of women and girls to the study of WASH conditions and outcomes.
Bethany Caruso is a leader in bringing the issues of women and girls to the study of WASH conditions and outcomes.
No validated survey tools existed to measure women’s empowerment in WASH, which led Caruso and Sinharoy to form and co-lead the MUSE (Measuring Urban Sanitation and Empowerment) project to develop these tools for urban sanitation programs. This type of research contributed to Emory’s recent ranking as most influential institution in women’s empowerment research by Women’s Studies International Forum.
Around one-third of the 47 core faculty members in the Hubert Department of Global Health contribute to this type of research, which focuses on how women can advance their capabilities individually and collectively. These researchers have produced evidence to suggest that empowering women in households and communities has a cascade of benefits for alleviating poverty, improving food security, increasing the health and nutrition of children, and improving women’s own health and well-being.
This shift didn’t just happen. As Caruso got a PhD at Emory, she kept trying to make sex and gender issues noticed in WASH. When she went to the 2011 WASH conference, “I was one of only a few actually presenting data disaggregated by sex,” she recalled. In 2012, she started presenting papers and organizing symposia on sex and gender–focused WASH work, including but not just about menstruation. Likeminded Emory students and alumni joined her.
“Bethany’s really one of the people who is responsible for this explosion of interest among other researchers as well as among WASH practitioners,” says Moe. “The bigger problem of the glass ceiling is still very much there in the WASH sector. It’s one thing to say, ‘Oh, we need more women in a village water committee’ or ‘we need more women involved in WASH decision-making at a local level.’ But, in order to achieve that, you also need more women at the leadership level in the WASH sector—in government, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector.”
Caruso joined the Rollins faculty in 2019 and is an assistant professor of global health with a joint appointment in environmental health and behavioral, social, and health education sciences. The WHO / UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, which monitors global progress toward SDG 6, tapped her to help them understand how to monitor gender-specific progress related to WASH, to lead an effort to identify indicators for global monitoring of gender in WASH, and to do so with broad stakeholder buy-in. “That’s one of the ways that gender is actually getting embedded into global work,” says Caruso.
World Vision also came to her for help designing and evaluating WASH programs in Central America and Africa that will be specifically focused on improving women’s empowerment, safety, and leadership, among other outcomes focused specifically on women and girls.
“All these outcomes are specifically related to women, and that’s not something that we’ve seen,” says Caruso. She is seeing the results of years of “banging the drum on the fact that in all these [previous] WASH interventions, nobody’s actually doing anything that specifically aims to improve the life outcomes of women.”
Gender-responsive WASH in health care facilities
McGriff has been an advocate for factoring women into the WASH equation in health care facilities since she joined CGSW as associate director in 2012. McGriff worked with Moe, who got funding from the GE Foundation, to lay the foundation for understanding the dearth of adequate WASH facilities in hospitals and other health care facilities in low-resource countries. Though McGriff has left her associate director post to become assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, she remains a core researcher in CGSW, and she created a WASH in health care facilities community of practice, which she co-leads with Lindsay Denny, senior public health program associate.
“We started in 2018 with a webinar series to connect practitioners and people in the field with evidence, ideas, and best practices,” says McGriff. “We cover a wide variety of topics, but gender responsiveness is one of our cross-cutting themes. At some point in every presentation, we look at the situation through a gendered lens.”
With good reason. Poor WASH conditions in health care facilities disproportionately affect women and girls—both patients and staff. Women are routinely encouraged to give birth in health care facilities rather than at home, but they are often confronted with horrific conditions. “We find women bringing four or five jugs of their own water with them to delivery because otherwise they would have no water to bathe themselves after the delivery or to bathe the baby,” says McGriff. “Some facilities don’t have toilets with adequate privacy, and some don’t have any toilets at all. As a result, some women elect to have their babies at home, without the supervision of
a health care worker.”
Female staff at the health care facilities must navigate the same lack of resources, but all day every day. “If there is no private or functioning toilet, no way to manage menstruation, women can’t perform their best on the job,” says McGriff. “We find some women are holding their urine during long shifts to the point they develop urinary tract infections. Some women don’t come to work when they are menstruating.”
These examples point to the need to include women in WASH in health care facilities design, planning, and implementation. And that’s just what McGriff and her team have been working to do.
McGriff has been an advocate for factoring women into the WASH equation in health care facilities since she joined CGSW as associate director in 2012. McGriff worked with Moe, who got funding from the GE Foundation, to lay the foundation for understanding the dearth of adequate WASH facilities in hospitals and other health care facilities in low-resource countries. Though McGriff has left her associate director post to become assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, she remains a core researcher in CGSW, and she created a WASH in health care facilities community of practice, which she co-leads with Lindsay Denny, senior public health program associate.
“We started in 2018 with a webinar series to connect practitioners and people in the field with evidence, ideas, and best practices,” says McGriff. “We cover a wide variety of topics, but gender responsiveness is one of our cross-cutting themes. At some point in every presentation, we look at the situation through a gendered lens.”
Joanne McGriff was an associate director of CGSW until 2020 and remains a core researcher.
Joanne McGriff was an associate director of CGSW until 2020 and remains a core researcher.
With good reason. Poor WASH conditions in health care facilities disproportionately affect women and girls—both patients and staff. Women are routinely encouraged to give birth in health care facilities rather than at home, but they are often confronted with horrific conditions. “We find women bringing four or five jugs of their own water with them to delivery because otherwise they would have no water to bathe themselves after the delivery or to bathe the baby,” says McGriff. “Some facilities don’t have toilets with adequate privacy, and some don’t have any toilets at all. As a result, some women elect to have their babies at home, without the supervision of
a health care worker.”
Female staff at the health care facilities must navigate the same lack of resources, but all day every day. “If there is no private or functioning toilet, no way to manage menstruation, women can’t perform their best on the job,” says McGriff. “We find some women are holding their urine during long shifts to the point they develop urinary tract infections. Some women don’t come to work when they are menstruating.”
These examples point to the need to include women in WASH in health care facilities design, planning, and implementation. And that’s just what McGriff and her team have been working to do.
The ripple effects of inadequate WASH conditions
How do women experience their water and sanitation environments? What are their health risks because of linked burdens such as preparing food while tending a sick child? Dr. Elizabeth Rogawski McQuade 10C brought these questions with her last year when she joined Rollins as an assistant professor of epidemiology, with joint appointments in environmental health and global health.
She is collaborating on a new study in Tanzania and Bangladesh to identify the transmission pathways for two common bacteria—Shigella and Campylobacter—that cause infectious diarrhea. “Let’s say we see that these pathogens are rarely in the drinking water,” she says. “But maybe contaminated food is coming into the house from the market, or the mother’s not able to wash her hands and is inadvertently contaminating the food during preparation. Maybe we identify contaminated food as being the dominant pathway. We’ll try to understand better how these specific pathogens are infecting children, with the hope of evaluating more targeted interventions in the next study.”
In her doctoral dissertation, McQuade examined how antibiotics affect diarrheal risk and growth of children in low-resource places. She spent a year in India studying unclean environments that lead to diarrhea, one of the top five causes of death for children globally, and environmental enteric dysfunction, a seemingly asymptomatic condition of the gut that leads to poor child growth. Mothers “are the conduits for access to water and sanitation,” McQuade says. “They are extremely central to everything I do.”
Raising an infant son, McQuade feels bonded with her colleagues. “The fact that there are many other women in WASH at Rollins makes me feel like I belong and my perspective is valued,” she says. “We have similar triumphs and struggles. Having both mentorship and sponsorship from women has been really critical for my career success and just general happiness.”
How do women experience their water and sanitation environments? What are their health risks because of linked burdens such as preparing food while tending a sick child? Dr. Elizabeth Rogawski McQuade 10C brought these questions with her last year when she joined Rollins as an assistant professor of epidemiology, with joint appointments in environmental health and global health.
She is collaborating on a new study in Tanzania and Bangladesh to identify the transmission pathways for two common bacteria—Shigella and Campylobacter—that cause infectious diarrhea. “Let’s say we see that these pathogens are rarely in the drinking water,” she says. “But maybe contaminated food is coming into the house from the market, or the mother’s not able to wash her hands and is inadvertently contaminating the food during preparation. Maybe we identify contaminated food as being the dominant pathway. We’ll try to understand better how these specific pathogens are infecting children, with the hope of evaluating more targeted interventions in the next study.”
Elizabeth Rogawski McQuade's work is informed by recognizing the central role women play in accessing water and sanitation for their families.
Elizabeth Rogawski McQuade's work is informed by recognizing the central role women play in accessing water and sanitation for their families.
In her doctoral dissertation, McQuade examined how antibiotics affect diarrheal risk and growth of children in low-resource places. She spent a year in India studying unclean environments that lead to diarrhea, one of the top five causes of death for children globally, and environmental enteric dysfunction, a seemingly asymptomatic condition of the gut that leads to poor child growth. Mothers “are the conduits for access to water and sanitation,” McQuade says. “They are extremely central to everything I do.”
Raising an infant son, McQuade feels bonded with her colleagues. “The fact that there are many other women in WASH at Rollins makes me feel like I belong and my perspective is valued,” she says. “We have similar triumphs and struggles. Having both mentorship and sponsorship from women has been really critical for my career success and just general happiness.”
Women’s farm duties can make them targets for antibiotic-resistant bacteria
An environmental microbiologist, Dr. Maya Nadimpalli has studied antibiotic use in animals raised for food, and how bacteria that are resistant to specific antibiotics can spread from animals to humans. When she started examining how humans can prevent bacteria from developing resistance, she found herself looking squarely at water, sanitation, and hygiene, and the role of women.
“These bacteria are really everywhere—in water, soil, air, animals, and people—and the scale of it suggests that that there is a major role for modern WASH infrastructure to play, both by preventing exposure to drug-resistant pathogens, and—if successful in reducing the infectious disease burden more generally—by reducing some countries’ long over-reliance on antibiotics for both prevention and treatment,” she says. In some low-resource countries, she notes, “rural women are more likely to be exposed to these multi-drug-resistant bacteria because they’re the ones who are handling livestock that are often colonized, like chickens and pigs.”
She is also investigating how breastfeeding confers protection for young children against resistant bacteria. When she joined the faculty as an assistant professor in May, Nadimpalli came under a big tent for collaboration across disciplines. “The natural convergence is really exciting and a major reason why I wanted to come to Rollins,” she says. “Together, we can have a unique impact on WASH and health.”
An environmental microbiologist, Dr. Maya Nadimpalli has studied antibiotic use in animals raised for food, and how bacteria that are resistant to specific antibiotics can spread from animals to humans. When she started examining how humans can prevent bacteria from developing resistance, she found herself looking squarely at water, sanitation, and hygiene, and the role of women.
Maya Nadimpalli joined the CGSW in May, making her the center's newest faculty member.
Maya Nadimpalli joined the CGSW in May, making her the center's newest faculty member.
“These bacteria are really everywhere—in water, soil, air, animals, and people—and the scale of it suggests that that there is a major role for modern WASH infrastructure to play, both by preventing exposure to drug-resistant pathogens, and—if successful in reducing the infectious disease burden more generally—by reducing some countries’ long over-reliance on antibiotics for both prevention and treatment,” she says. In some low-resource countries, she notes, “rural women are more likely to be exposed to these multi-drug-resistant bacteria because they’re the ones who are handling livestock that are often colonized, like chickens and pigs.”
She is also investigating how breastfeeding confers protection for young children against resistant bacteria. When she joined the faculty as an assistant professor in May, Nadimpalli came under a big tent for collaboration across disciplines. “The natural convergence is really exciting and a major reason why I wanted to come to Rollins,” she says. “Together, we can have a unique impact on WASH and health.”
Success in WASH depends
on including women
Sinharoy came to Rollins as a postdoctoral fellow in 2017 and joined the faculty three years later with a joint appointment in global health and environmental health. Because the voices of women and girls must be central in WASH research, Sinharoy is co-leading a study focused on gender and social inclusion to help ensure that everyone gets access to safe water and sanitation.
“WASH infrastructure is often designed without consulting women and others whose voices are not traditionally heard,” says Sinharoy. “As a result, it may not meet their needs and may not be used by them. One main output of our study will be a toolkit for participatory design of WASH infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on participation of women.”
Sinharoy transitioned to WASH from Emory’s nutrition and health sciences doctoral program, and like Moe, a high-ranking male faculty member opened the door. As a student blogger for the American Society for Nutrition, she noticed a New York Times piece about Dr. Thomas Clasen, Rose Salamone Gangarosa Chair of Sanitation and Safe Water, concerning sanitation and diarrhea. Sinharoy knew that diarrhea was a major cause of malnutrition in India and other countries, so she interviewed Clasen. When he mentioned needing a nutrition person for one of his studies, Sinharoy raised her hand. He co-chaired her dissertation committee, and they are still collaborating.
At Rollins, Sinharoy does not see the dearth of women that she encountered at that conference long ago. “The women who are working on WASH at Emory are absolutely incredible: brilliant, capable, collaborative, and genuinely kind,” she says. “By working together, we can help each other, help ourselves, and help women around the world.”
Sinharoy came to Rollins as a postdoctoral fellow in 2017 and joined the faculty three years later with a joint appointment in global health and environmental health. Because the voices of women and girls must be central in WASH research, Sinharoy is co-leading a study focused on gender and social inclusion to help ensure that everyone gets access to safe water and sanitation.
“WASH infrastructure is often designed without consulting women and others whose voices are not traditionally heard,” says Sinharoy. “As a result, it may not meet their needs and may not be used by them. One main output of our study will be a toolkit for participatory design of WASH infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on participation of women.”
Sheela Sinharoy is co-leading a study focused on gender and social inclusion to help ensure that everyone gets access to safe water and sanitation.
Sheela Sinharoy is co-leading a study focused on gender and social inclusion to help ensure that everyone gets access to safe water and sanitation.
Sinharoy transitioned to WASH from Emory’s nutrition and health sciences doctoral program, and like Moe, a high-ranking male faculty member opened the door. As a student blogger for the American Society for Nutrition, she noticed a New York Times piece about Dr. Thomas Clasen, Rose Salamone Gangarosa Chair of Sanitation and Safe Water, concerning sanitation and diarrhea. Sinharoy knew that diarrhea was a major cause of malnutrition in India and other countries, so she interviewed Clasen. When he mentioned needing a nutrition person for one of his studies, Sinharoy raised her hand. He co-chaired her dissertation committee, and they are still collaborating.
At Rollins, Sinharoy does not see the dearth of women that she encountered at that conference long ago. “The women who are working on WASH at Emory are absolutely incredible: brilliant, capable, collaborative, and genuinely kind,” she says. “By working together, we can help each other, help ourselves, and help women around the world.”
Diverse voices mean better solutions for more people
Women researchers are bringing more diverse voices into solving problems with water, sanitation, and hygiene. One size doesn’t fit all but having more varied voices can produce solutions that could fit more people.
Case in point: the hand-washing research of Dr. Marlene Wolfe, assistant professor of environmental health since 2021. Her current work on hand washing solutions for refugees could lead to solutions for unhoused and transient people in the US and around the world. While this project does not focus on gender, gender informs it; women are often responsible for managing hand washing and hygiene in the home.
Women researchers are promoting a
more layered view of how men, women, and children interact with water and sanitation. Having a more gender-inclusive team helps shift away from “one direction of knowledge creation,” says Wolfe, an environmental microbiologist, environmental engineer, and mother of two. “The best thing that we can do is to increase participation in this field from people who represent all the different perspectives, needs, constraints, and innovation around the world, because they inform each other.”
Clean water and sanitation are universal basic needs that bridge people’s differences, and for Wolfe and her peers, this solutions-oriented work carries great meaning through its immense potential to make life better for people in need.
“When I go into the field and speak to people about WASH in their homes, often they really want to relate about the experience of being a woman. They want to know if I am a wife and a mother, and they want to share that experience,” she says. “Those are powerful connections made in the community, and I think it’s important that we have research teams that have representatives with different identities. Aside from being the right thing to do, an inclusive environment will improve our work. We will have better solutions and better options for people and elevate all people in a way that gives respect and dignity.”
Story by Michelle Hiskey
Designed by Linda Dobson
Photography by Kay Hinton
Women researchers are bringing more diverse voices into solving problems with water, sanitation, and hygiene. One size doesn’t fit all but having more varied voices can produce solutions that could fit more people.
Case in point: the hand-washing research of Dr. Marlene Wolfe, assistant professor of environmental health since 2021. Her current work on hand washing solutions for refugees could lead to solutions for unhoused and transient people in the US and around the world. While this project does not focus on gender, gender informs it; women are often responsible for managing hand washing and hygiene in the home.
Marlene Wolfe's work is informed by recognizing the central role women play in accessing water and sanitation for their families.
Marlene Wolfe's work is informed by recognizing the central role women play in accessing water and sanitation for their families.
Women researchers are promoting a
more layered view of how men, women, and children interact with water and sanitation. Having a more gender-inclusive team helps shift away from “one direction of knowledge creation,” says Wolfe, an environmental microbiologist, environmental engineer, and mother of two. “The best thing that we can do is to increase participation in this field from people who represent all the different perspectives, needs, constraints, and innovation around the world, because they inform each other.”
Clean water and sanitation are universal basic needs that bridge people’s differences, and for Wolfe and her peers, this solutions-oriented work carries great meaning through its immense potential to make life better for people in need.
“When I go into the field and speak to people about WASH in their homes, often they really want to relate about the experience of being a woman. They want to know if I am a wife and a mother, and they want to share that experience,” she says. “Those are powerful connections made in the community, and I think it’s important that we have research teams that have representatives with different identities. Aside from being the right thing to do, an inclusive environment will improve our work. We will have better solutions and better options for people and elevate all people in a way that gives respect and dignity.”
Story by Michelle Hiskey
Designed by Linda Dobson
Photography by Kay Hinton
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