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Gender-Responsive Standards

Introduction

Gender-Responsive Standards

Standards Development is generally dominated by men and standards have typically been produced to be “gender neutral” or “unisex.” The lack of balanced participation and the lack of gender-responsive standards has resulted in unnecessary health and safety risks for women and girls and led to standards having unequal impacts and/or unintended consequences such as negative financial impacts or lower quality of life. Historically, standard-setting bodies have operated without a policy for mainstreaming gender in their activities and in the management of their organizations.

The WP.6 “Gender-Responsive Standards” aims at providing a practical way forward for standards bodies wishing to take a step towards gender equality through the standards they develop and their standards development process. WP.6 also seeks to provide a forum for interested parties to come together to collaboratively develop expertise and guidance which can be shared.

In Focus

WP6-GRSDeclaration-infocus

GRS is working on guidance for the development and roll out of gender action plans. Any standards body with a gender action plan are invited to provide some details using the Gender action plan repository template in order to help inform the guidance.

Key deliverables

Symbol & Title

Issued date

ENG

FRE

RUS

ESP

CHI

ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2018/6/Rev.1
Recommendation U on Gender-Responsive Standards

2018

PDF

PDF

PDF

   

Declaration on Gender-Responsive Standards and Standards Development and signatory database

2019

 

 

 

   

Case study repository of standards-related gender action plans

2022

 

 

 

   

ECE/TRADE/472
Guidelines on Developing Gender-Responsive Standards

2022

PDF

PDF

PDF

PDF

PDF

ECE/TRADE/474
Why Gender-Responsive Standards are Better for Everyone
2023 PDF   PDF    
ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2023/11
Gender and salutation code lists
2023 PDF PDF PDF PDF  
Other resources

Author

Title

Issued date

Organization

Link

 

“A United Nations Program for Gender Equality in Standardization”, Standardization News, page 21

03-04/2018

ASTM

PDF

 

“Encouraging Action – on Standards”, International Gender Champions 2017 Annual Report, 2017, page 13

2017

International Gender Champions

PDF

Jachia, Lorenza

Standards & Gender Equality (PowerPoint)

2019

UNECE

PDF

Barraja, Magali

A Gender Lens to Sustainability Codes and Auditing Methodologies (PowerPoint)

11/2018

BSR

PDF

Mohan, Sara

The Gender Impact of Standards (PowerPoint)

11/2018

International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)

PDF

Braun, Patrice

APEC Gender Inclusion Guidelines (GIG) (Powerpoint)

26/03/2018

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

PDF

Hutchinson, Kimberley

Gender-Based Analysis Plus (PowerPoint)

23/10/2017

Status of Women Canada

PDF

He, Lucy

Gender Bias in Standardisation (PowerPoint)

09/2017

EnergySafety New Zealand

PDF

 

Promoting Entrepreneurship Among Young People and Women (Project Document)

2017

Réseau Normalisation et Francophonie (RNF)

PDF

Eynon, Stephanie

Standards-Makers Diversity & Inclusion

21/11/2019

British Standards Institute (BSI)

PDF

History

In 2016, WP.6 launched the Gender-Responsive Standards Initiative (GRSI). This is an important contribution to SDG 5, “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. This has resulted in the publication in 2018 of the Recommendation U on Gender-Responsive Standards and the Declaration for Gender-Responsive Standards and Standards Development which has to date over eighty signatories.

Impact

Text forthcoming

Events

Official annual reports of the Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards (ToS-GRS)

Official meetings of the Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards (ToS-GRS) and the Gender-Responsive Standards Initiative (GRSI) which preceded it

Policies and procedures

Symbol & Title

Issued date

ENG

FRA

RUS

ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2023/14 Annex VI
Terms of reference of the Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards

2023

PDF

PDF

PDF