The Philippine Women’s University (PWU) under the aegis of the Helena Z Benitez Global Forum Foundation is spearheading the holding of an International Symposium on Women, Water and Waste to call attention to the latest developments in Asia on two critical issues of sustainable development - freshwater and waste - and on the progress in the management and leadership roles that women play in these sectors.

The main focus of the International Symposium is the imperative of a gender perspective in managing basic social services, such as, water and waste to ensure understanding of the different needs and, therefore, of the different roles of women and men in these sectors. Gender consideration in the early stages of sector policy formulation and planning is necessary to ensure that no one and no group is discriminated against.