DEI Expert Siyka Radilova on How Lack of Safe Sanitation Impacts Women and Challenges Integrating DEI into International Water and Sanitation Utilities

As a Social Anthropologist and Eastern European Immigrant to the UK, Siyka Radilova brings a unique perspective to her work an expert in Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) in Water and Sanitation.

While there has been a larger focus on women and water supplies, lack of safe accessible sanitation for women is a major concern. Without safe, secure bathrooms for women, women can face sexual and physical violence as well as attack by animals when they seek to take care of essential bodily functions outdoors.

Sanitation (or Wastewater or Clean Water) utilities are also mainly male employees who may overlook these considerations for women. Awareness of women's sanitation needs is particularly important for utilities in low and medium income countries, as well as those serving low-income communities in wealthier countries. Having worked previously as DEI Chair for the International Water Association (IWA), Siyka has witnessed the challenges of advancing DEI in water and wastewater utilities around the globe.

The discussion highlights how the global care chain affects women's ability to remain in the workforce, especially in countries with strong biases towards traditional gender roles. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these gender disparities, as women were more likely to take on childcare responsibilities while working from home.

This conversation also addresses the additional pressures and discrimination faced by women who don't have children or can't have children, those who prioritize their careers, and those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Siyka also addresses the challenges of being a woman with a disability in the water and sanitation sector, and the need for DEI training in institutions to eliminate discrimination and bias towards underrepresented groups, including women and people with disabilities. The speaker also highlights the importance of acknowledging the intersectionality of discrimination and how it can affect individuals on multiple levels.

Particularly in STEM fields, and the additional pressure faced by women who also have neurodiversity differences. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding and supporting these differences, rather than expecting everyone to conform to a certain mold. She shares her own experience of masking her learning disability for most of her life and how important it is to support and accommodate people with different abilities to thrive in their careers. The conversation highlights the need for empathy and support from employers to help women achieve a work-life balance while dealing with various additional pressures.