Lylian Coelho from SUEZ-AgroParisTech on Water For All and the Need For Women In Decision-Making Roles

As SUEZ-AgroParistech Development Director for "Water For All", Lylian Coehlo trains future leaders in water and sanitation in Africa and Asia, with a focus on promoting gender equality and increasing women's participation in leadership roles. Lylian is a French citizen and civil engineer from Brazil who is passionate about environmental engineering. She believes that having more women in leadership positions is vital to achieving equal rights in the industry.

In this Extraordinary Conversation, we talk about the need for organizations to provide holistic & inclusive water solutions and promote tech & innovation, and how important it is to have women's leadership to achieve these goals. We discuss UN's evolving emphasis on water-related topics & need for parity in climate change conferences.

We also discuss the need to ensure data about water is accurate when surveys are often directed at men rather than women who are responsible for water in the home, and how bias is built into computer models used for water projects and programs, and how men receive more training and assume more decision-making roles in water organizations.

Lylian advocates for more comprehensive efforts to address gender inequality across sectors and countries, beyond simply providing childcare and lactation rooms. Water For All is are actively participating in events related to water and gender at the UN Water Conference, with the aim of promoting greater commitments to gender equality.