Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) & Human Development
Advancing Equality, Inclusion, and Human Potential Across All Sectors
Inclusive development and the fulfillment of human rights is at the heart of Cowater’s mission. We believe that societies thrive when every individual, regardless of gender, ability, or background, can exercise their rights and participate fully in economic, political, and social life. Across our global portfolio, we integrate Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) into our programming while advancing targeted initiatives in health, education, livelihoods, and the empowerment of marginalized communities. Our approach is rights-based, participatory, and adaptive, ensuring that progress is both measurable and sustainable, even in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI)
Cowater is a global leader in GEDSI-responsive programming, incorporating inclusive practices across all service lines. Our teams apply intersectional gender-based analysis, engage GEDSI focal points in every division, and work alongside governments, civil society, the private sector, and communities to dismantle barriers that prevent women, persons with disabilities, and marginalized groups from realizing their rights.
Our GEDSI-focused initiatives address:
- Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE): Expanding women’s access to markets, finance, and leadership roles.
- Gender-Based Violence (GBV): Supporting prevention and survivor-centered response systems.
- Inclusive service delivery: Ensuring that public services, from healthcare to trade systems, are accessible and equitable.
- Policy reform and advocacy: Strengthening institutions to integrate GEDSI priorities into governance and decision-making.
In Asia, initiatives such as SPRINT in Vietnam enable the empowerment of ethnic minority women in agriculture by building resilient value chains. Through large-scale programs such as AIPTIS in Indonesia and GREAT in Vietnam, we have demonstrated how inclusive approaches transform communities and strengthen resilience.
First Nations Engagement
Cowater aspires to build on its experience of partnering with Indigenous communities to advance equitable development. From pioneering sanitation solutions with Indigenous communities in Alaska in the 1990s, to working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with Equity Economics in Australia, we strive to support and advance First Nations knowledge and rights.
Through the EDM program, we have led research on Indigenous Peoples’ participation in international trade and how their role in shaping inclusive trade agreements can be strengthened. Similarly, through the Gender-Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) program and the SMEs Promote Resilience, Inclusion and Innovative Transformation (SPRINT) project, Cowater is supporting ethnic minority women in Vietnam to strengthen their participation in local economies and leadership in agriculture and tourism value chains. These initiatives advance gender equality and social inclusion by empowering underrepresented groups to access opportunities and influence decision-making within their communities. Across all contexts, we strive to combine respect for Indigenous rights with practical investments in livelihoods, education, and policy reform that align with the values of Indigenous communities .
Health Access and Service Delivery
Health is a cornerstone of human development. Cowater strengthens health systems so that women, children, and marginalized populations can access quality, gender-responsive, and inclusive care.
Our work includes:
- Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH): Expanding safe delivery services, family planning, and community health initiatives.
- Health workforce development: Strengthening nursing, midwifery, and medical training institutions to improve service quality and resilience.
- Inclusive governance: Establishing community scorecards, gender working groups, and accountability mechanisms to make health systems more responsive
Notable initiatives include InPATH in Malawi, which reduced maternal and child mortality through stronger local health governance, and Human Resources for Health in Bangladesh, which enabled the empowerment of a new generation of nurses and midwives.
Education, Skills, and Vocational Training
Cowater has decades of experience designing and implementing education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs that equip young people, women, and marginalized groups with the skills to succeed. Our work spans basic education, modernized curricula, and vocational training linked directly to labor market demand.
Our education and skills programming focuses on:
- Expanding girls’ education and reducing barriers to school enrolment and retention.
- Strengthening TVET institutions through competency-based curricula, teacher training, and public–private partnerships.
- Creating pathways to employment and entrepreneurship for youth, women, and persons with disabilities.
- Supporting innovation and green jobs through renewable energy and climate-smart vocational programs.
- Strengthening basic education systems through system-level reforms, teacher professional development, inclusive education, and providing technical assistance for education policy development and implementation to improve governance, planning, and quality assurance.
Examples include the SEED and SEED II projects in Jordan, which trained women and youth in renewable energy and energy efficiency; the Learning2gether initiative in Ukraine, which supported the implementation of the national education reform; and the Iraq Agriculture TVET program, which equips youth with skills for agri-value chain employment.