India, Aug. 7 -- A new study examined the gendered patterns of children's participation in household water fetching in Ghana and found the practice still heavily gendered, placing a higher burden on girls than boys.

The study published in Water Policy, July 20, 2026 examined whether children fetch water at home, the reasons for their participation or non-participation, and their views on whether this responsibility should be shared between boys and girls.

The results revealed that a higher percentage of girls (63.1 per cent) fetched water at home compared to boys (51.2 per cent).

The researchers applied Gender Role Theory (GRT) as an interpretive lens and used a sample of 5,024 children aged 8-17 years.

The qualitative findings indica...