Published in Women's Studies International Forum, this peer-reviewed article by researchers at the University of Technology Sydney's Institute for Sustainable Futures describes the theory, concepts and design decisions underlying the WASH gender equality measure (WASH-GEM), a quantitative measure of WASH programs' contributions to gender equality outcomes.

Developed through a collaborative, iterative process informed by a feminist perspective, critical literature review, pilot implementation and partner engagement, the article reports five design considerations critical to the robust design of quantitative measures of social change, and the tensions navigated in developing the measure.