FORM 4:
NEW WORK ITEM PROPOSAL (NP)Circulation date2021-05-12

Reference number: TMBG/NP(to be given by ISO Central Secretariat)

Closing date for voting
2021-08-04

ISO/TC /SC

Proposer☒ ISO member body:
AFNOR☐ Committee, liaison or other¹:☒

Proposal for a new PC

NP

Secretariat
If the proposal is accepted, AFNOR is willing toundertake the work of secretariat of the new PC

A proposal for a new work item within the scope of an existing committee shall be submitted tothe secretariat of that committee.
¹ The proposer of a new work item may be a member body of ISO, the secretariat itself, anothertechnical committee or subcommittee, an organization in liaison, the Technical Management Boardor one of the advisory groups, or the Secretary-General. See ISO/IEC Directives Part 1, Clause 2.3.2.
The proposer(s) of the new work item proposal shall:• make every effort to provide a first working draft for discussion, or at least an outline of aworking draft;• nominate a project leader;• discuss the proposal with the committee leadership prior to submitting the appropriate form,
to decide on an appropriate development track (based on market needs) and draft a projectplan including key milestones and the proposed date of the first meeting.
The proposal will be circulated to the P-members of the technical committee or subcommittee forvoting, and to the O-members for information.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Proposals without adequate justification risk rejection or referral to originator.
Guidelines for proposing and justifying a new work item are contained in Annex C of the ISO/IEC
Directives, Part 1.
☒

The proposer has considered the guidance given in the Annex C during the preparation of the NP.

Resource availability:☒ There are resources available to allow the development of the project to start immediately
after project approval* (i.e. project leader, related WG or committee work programme).

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Form 4: New work item proposal (NP)Page 2* if not, it is recommended that the project be first registered as a preliminary work item (a Form 4 is not required forthis) and, when the development can start, Form 4 should be completed to initiate the NP ballot.

Proposal (to be completed by the proposer, following discussion with the committee leadership)
Title of the proposed deliverable
English title
Guidelines for the promotion and implementation of gender equality.
(In the case of an amendment, revision or a new part of an existing document, include thereference number and current title)
Scope of the proposed deliverable
Standardization in the field of gender equality with the aim of developing a technical guidanceon how to promote and implement gender equality in all types of organizations, public or
private, regardless of their size, location and field of activity.
The objective is to develop guidelines on:- Concepts, terms and definitions;- Identification of existing good practices;- Definition of actions, strategies, policies for the promotion and implementation of genderequality
Excluded: Related standardization work on diversity in human resources management ascovered by ISO/TC 260 “Human resources management”

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Purpose and justification of the proposal
The international context
Women’s rights are not only fundamental human rights, but also a necessary foundation for apeaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Over the last decades, important progress has been made: more and more girls are going toschool, fewer are forced into early marriage, more women are serving in positions of leadership,and laws are being reformed to promote gender equality.
A quarter of a century ago, the Fourth UN World Conference on Women and the adoption of the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action launched the most comprehensive framework forachieving women’s empowerment and gender equality. Its 12-point Action Plan covers all areasof development, such as:- fight against poverty, violence, armed conflicts,- access to education and training, healthcare and power and decision-making sharing,- support for institutional mechanisms and human rights,- women’s role in the economy, the media, and with regards to the environment,- and finally the specific needs of young girls.
Indeed, since the Beijing declaration, there has been significant progress but many challenges
remain to be addressed in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, andespecially SDG 5: gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, most, if not all of the
17 UN sustainable development goals include the promotion and implementation of genderequality and women’s empowerment, in a gender-mainstreaming approach.
Many initiatives are undertaken and funded by a variety of stakeholders at local, national orinternational level to advance gender equality in all areas.
For instance, at the G7 Biarritz Summit in 2019, the Heads of State and Government of the G7
launched an international coalition to fight gender inequality, called the Biarritz Partnership for
Gender Equality. This was the starting point, among French stakeholders, for reflecting on how
to deepen international collaboration to accelerate structural changes.
The 25th anniversary of the Beijing Conference will be celebrated in June 2021 during theGeneration Equality Forum, Beijing +25. It will take stock of the progress made and encourage
new measures to further gender equality.
Standardization contribution to this international agenda
To build on this momentum, we propose the creation of an international standard on genderequality, which will add another building block towards the realization of gender equality andwomen and girls’ rights. The new standard will also support the UN SDG 5 on gender equality
and women’s empowerment.
According to the existing international frameworks, the following subjects are first proposed:- access to inclusive, equitable and quality education,- access to inclusive, equitable, and quality health services, including in the area of sexualand reproductive health and rights,- prevention and fight against gender-based violence,- women’s economic empowerment,- equal, meaningful and effective participation of women in all decision-making spaces andpublic life.
This list can be discussed and extended if necessary at a later stage with subjects such as
climate and environment, specific needs of youth, etc.

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These subjects will be addressed through the prism of five pillars: internal dimension, activities
and investments, external relationships, internal and external communication, and Social
Responsibility (SR) policy of organizations.
This standard is not intended to compete with:• The work in progress within the ISO/IEC Joint Strategic Advisory Group (JSAG) on
Gender responsive standards which was established to help ISO and IEC committees
ensure gender is considered in the standards development process.
• The existing national or international public policies, regulations or legislations.
It aims to provide a methodology that encourages organizations to integrate this issue into theirinternal and external policies and operations.
It will provide them with guidelines on how to promote and implement gender equality, This
technical guidance will help organizations to establish their strategies relating to gender equality,
identify actions and policies to achieve their objectives, assess risks and opportunities and guidetheir communication or reporting activities.

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Form 4: New work item proposal (NP)Page 5

Please select any UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that this document will
support. For more information on SDGs, please visit our website at www.iso.org/SDGs."☒ GOAL 1: No Poverty☐ GOAL 2: Zero Hunger☒ GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being☒ GOAL 4: Quality Education☒ GOAL 5: Gender Equality☐ GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation☐ GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy☒ GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth☐ GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure☒ GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality☐ GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities☐ GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production☒ GOAL 13: Climate Action☐ GOAL 14: Life Below Water☐ GOAL 15: Life on Land
☒ GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
N/A GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
The standard will directly support Goal 5 “Gender Equality”:
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private
spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female
genital mutilation
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public
services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared
responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadershipat all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life
5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights asagreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on
Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome
documents of their review conferences
5.A Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as
access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services,
inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.B Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications
technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.C Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion ofgender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
It will also support :• Goal 3 “Good Health and Well-being, targets 3.1• Goal 4 “Quality Education”, targets 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6 and 4.A• Goal 10 Reduced Inequality, target 10.2
It will indirectly support :• Goal 1 “No Poverty”, targets 1.2; 1.4 and 1.B

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Form 4: New work item proposal (NP)Page 6•••

Goal 8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”, target 8.5
Goal 16 “Peace and Justice Strong Institutions”, targets 16.7 and 16.B
Goal 13 “Climate Action” Targets 13.3 et 13.B

If a draft is attached to this proposal
Please select from one of the following options (note that if no option is selected, the default
will be the first option):☒ Draft document can be registered at Working Draft stage (WD – stage 20.00)☐ Draft document can be registered at Committee Draft stage (CD – stage 30.00)☐ Draft document can be registered at Draft International Standard stage (DIS – stage 40.00)☐

If the attached document is copyrighted or includes copyrighted content, the proposer
confirms that copyright permission has been granted for ISO to use this content incompliance with clause 2.13 of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 (see also the Declaration on
copyright).

Is this a Management Systems Standard (MSS)?
☐ Yes

☒ No

NOTE: if Yes, the NP along with the Justification study (see Annex SL of the Consolidated ISO
Supplement) must be sent to the MSS Task Force secretariat (tmb@iso.org) for approval
before the NP ballot can be launched.
Indication of the preferred type to be developed☒☐☐

International Standard
Technical Specification
Publicly Available Specification

Proposed Standard Development Track (SDT)
To be discussed between proposer and committee manager considering, for example, whenthe market (the users) needs the document to be available, the maturity of the subject etc.
☐ 18 months*☒ 24 months☐ 36 months* Projects using SDT 18 are eligible for the ‘Direct publication process’ offered by ISO /CS which reduces
publication processing time by approximately 1 month.

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Draft project plan (as discussed with committee leadership)
Proposed date for first meeting (remote meeting by Zoom): 2021-11
Proposed dates for key milestones:
Circulation of 1st Working Draft (if any) to experts: 2021-09
Committee Draft ballot (if any): 2022-02
DIS submission*: 2022-08
Publication*: 2023-08* Target Dates for DIS submission and Publication should preferably be set a few weeks ahead of the limit dates(automatically given by the selected SDT).

For guidance and support on project management, descriptions of the key milestones and tohelp you define your project plan and select the appropriate development track, see:go.iso.org/projectmanagement
NOTE: The draft project plan is later used to create a detailed project plan, when the project isapproved.
Known patented items (see ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, clause 2.14 for important
guidance)
☐ Yes

☒ No

If "Yes", provide full information as annex
Co-ordination of work
To the best of your knowledge, has this or a similar proposal been submitted to anotherstandards development organization?
☐ Yes

☒ No

If “Yes”, please specify which one(s):A statement from the proposer as to how the proposed work may relate to or impact on
existing work, especially existing ISO and IEC deliverables. The proposer should
explain how the work differs from apparently similar work, or explain how duplicationand conflict will be minimized
ISO 26000: 2010 « Guidance on social responsibility » is the only ISO standard with an explicit
reference to gender equality. It gives a definition of gender equality “2.8 gender equality:
equitable treatment for women and men” and describes its importance and how it relates tosocial responsibility. But ISO 26000 does not go into detail on this issue. This new standard istherefore a complementary work to promote and to implement gender equality in organizations.
ISO/TC 260 « Human resources management » has developed standards on “Internal andexternal human capital reporting” (ISO 30414: 2018) and on “Occupational health and safety
metrics” (ISO/TS 24179: 2020) and is developing a standard on “Diversity and inclusion”(ISO/FDIS 30415). This standardization work in the field of human resources management will
be taken into account in the development of the new standard insofar as it relates to genderequality.

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Form 4: New work item proposal (NP)Page 8A listing of relevant existing documents at the international, regional and national levels
International standardization identified
•
•
•
•
•
•

ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social responsibility
IWA 34: 2021 Women's entrepreneurship — Key definitions and general criteria
ISO/FDIS 30415 Human resource management — Diversity and inclusion
ISO 30414 :2018 Human resource management — Guidelines for internal and external
human capital reporting
ISO/TS 24179 :2020 Human resource management — Occupational health and safety
metrics
ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable procurement — Guidance

National standardization identified-•

Australia : AS 5376 Gender-inclusive job evaluation and grading•

Austria: OENORM S 2501 Management of diversity• Canada :CSA - Santé mentale et bien-être pour les étudiants du postsecondaire/ Mental Health andWellness for Post-Secondary Students
BNQ – Employeur remarquable – diversité ethnoculturelle, Outstanding Employer Ethnocultural Diversity
CAN/CIOSC 101 Conception éthique et utilisation des systèmes de décision automatisés/
Ethical Design and Use of Automated Decision Systems
BNQ -,•

Chile: Implementación de NCh3262:2012 Sistemas de gestión: Gestión de igualdad degénero y conciliación de la vida laboral, familiar y personal – Requisitos de 2020 /Management systems: gender equality management and reconciliation of work, family
and personal life – Requirements•

Costa Rica: INTE G38:2015 Sistema de gestión para la igualdad de género en elámbito laboral. Requisitos / Management system for gender equality in the workplace.
Requirements.

•

Dominican Republic : NORDOM 775 – Sistema de Gestión para la igualdad de género/
Management system for gender equality•

France : NF X50-784: 2016 Promotion de la diversité - Politique des Ressources
Humaines pour la promotion de la diversité et la prévention des discriminations/
Promotion of Diversity - Human Resources Policy for the Promotion of Diversity andPrevention of DiscriminationNF X50-902 :2013 Ressources humaines pour la promotion de la diversité et de laprévention des discriminations - Mesurer les effets d'une politique diversité/ Human
resources for the promotion of diversity and prevention of discrimination - Measuring
the effects of a diversity policy•

Mexico: Norma Mexicana NMX R 025 SCFI 2015 en Igualdad Laboral y No
Discriminación / Professional equality and non-discrimination

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Form 4: New work item proposal (NP)Page 9---•Norway: NS 11201: 2018 Diversity management systems – requirements•

UK : BS 76005: 2017 Valuing people through diversity and inclusion – code of practicefor organizations, provides recommendations for undertaking, reviewing, assessing andundertaking a competent and principled approach to diversity and inclusion in theworkplace•

USA – MIL Military standards on diversity and ASTM on Sexual violence investigations

MIL-DTL-11484/349 et 350: 2018 “Lapel Button, Outstanding Achievement Award,
Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunity, Director of National Intelligence” and “Exemplary
Leadership Award, Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunity, Director of National
Intelligence”
MIL-DTL-43098/19 et 20: 2018 “Medallion, Outstanding Achievement Award, Diversity,
Equal Employment Opportunity, Director of National Intelligence” and “Medallion,
Exemplary Leadership Award, Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunity, Director of
National Intelligence”
ASTM E 2123 and 2124: 2020
- Standard Practice for Preservation of Evidence in Sexual Violence Investigation- Standard Specification for Equipment and Supplies in Sexual Violence Investigations
ASTM E 1843: 2020 Standard Guide for Sexual Violence Investigation, Examination, andEvidence Collection Protocol

Other relevant documents (not exhaustive)•

United Nations (UN):oWorld Conferences on Women: https://www.unwomen.org/en/how-we-oConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
1979
Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15, September
1995
2010 UN Women : https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-

o
o
o
•

work/intergovernmental-support/world-conferences-on-women

library/multimedia/2015/12/infographic-human-rights-women

Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) developed by UN Global Compact
and UN Women https://www.weps.org/about

ILO conventions and especially:o C189 - Convention (n° 189) « Domestic Workers convention », 2011https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C189

o•

C190 - Convention (n° 190) « Violence and Harassment convention », 2019https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_ILO_CODE:
C190

Biarritz partnership for gender equality. Report with recommendations for advancing genderequality and the empowerment of girls and women :https://www.elysee.fr/admin/upload/default/0001/05/cfb1e2ba2b9aa09c1660f1b6df2cabbc815eecc2.pdf

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Please fill out the relevant parts of the table below to identify relevant affectedstakeholder categories and how they will each benefit from or be impacted by the
proposed deliverable
Benefits/impacts

Examples oforganizations/companies
to be contacted

Industry and commerce –large industry and SMEs

To have a tool to promote and Click here to enter text.
implement gender equality intheir organization
To better integrate genderequality issues into theirstrategic and decision-making
processes, by supporting
strategies for action andfollow-up;
To define a communication
framework, to report on
actions to their stakeholders.

Government

To support organizations tomeet their commitments, tointegrate societal expectations
and to enhance current
practices in gender equality.

Consumers

To identify organizations that
promote gender equality andbenefit from better adapted
products (goods andservices).

LabourTo have a tool for dialogue
and for the promotion ofgender equality in labour
activities.

Academic and researchbodiesTo promote their research
results in standardization.

Standards application
businesses

To have common concepts,
terms and definitions, as well
as a methodology toimplement gender equality inorganizations

Non-governmentalorganizations

To have a methodology thatallows gender equality issues
can be taken into account by all
stakeholders in a consistentmanner; to have a tool for
dialogue, for the promotion ofgender equality in allorganizations.

Other (please specify)

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Liaisons

Joint/parallel work

A listing of relevant external internationalorganizations or internal parties (other ISO
and/or IEC committees) to be engaged as
liaisons in the development of the deliverable.

Possible joint/parallel work with
☐ IEC (please specify committee ID)

ISO/TC 260 Human resources
ISO/IEC Joint Strategic Advisory Group(JSAG) on Gender responsive standards
UN WomenILO
The Generation Equality ForumUNFPA – United Nations Population Fund
UNESCO,UNDP (UN programme against poverty)
ITC (International Trade Centre)☐

CEN (please specify committee ID)☐

Other (please specify)

A listing of relevant countries which are not already P-members of the committee
This standardization endeavour is intended to involve all countries, since gender equality is asocietal issue part of sustainable development.
NOTE: The committee manager shall distribute this NP to the ISO members of the countries
listed above to ask if they wish to participate in this work
Proposed Project Leader
Mrs. Cécile GIRAUD
cecile.giraud@diplomatie.gouv.fr

Name of the Proposer
Mrs. Cyrielle FOURNIER
cyrielle.fournier@afnor.org

This proposal will be developed by☐☐☐☒

An existing Working Group (please specify which one: )A new Working Group (title: )(Note: establishment of a new WG must be approved by committee resolution)
The TC/SC directly
To be determined

Supplementary information relating to the proposal☐

This proposal relates to a new ISO document;This proposal relates to the adoption as an active project of an item currently registered asa Preliminary Work Item;
This proposal relates to the re-establishment of a cancelled project as an active project.

☐

Other:☒☐

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Form 4: New work item proposal (NP)Page 12Maintenance agencies (MA) and registration authorities (RA)☐This proposal requires the service of a maintenance agency.
If yes, please identify the potential candidate:☐This proposal requires the service of a registration authority.
If yes, please identify the potential candidate:

NOTE: Selection and appointment of the MA or RA is subject to the procedure outlined in the
ISO/IEC Directives, Annex G and Annex H, and the RA policy in the ISO Supplement,
Annex SN.
☒Annex(es) are included with this proposal (provide details)-

Proposal for a table of content of the future standard
Items of the main international initiatives (Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995,
Biarritz Partnership, Equality Generation Forum Actions coalitions).

Additional information/questions

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ANNEX 1 – Table of content proposed for “Guidelines for the promotion and implementation ofgender equality. »Foreword
1.
Scope
2.
Terms and definitions
3.
Overall approach and issues
3.1.
Approach to the document
3.2.
Stages in the implementation of the approach
3.2.1.
Step 1 - Understanding the document and its terminology
3.2.2.
Step 2 - Implementing: taking stock
3.2.3.
Step 3 - Identify and prioritize the actions with stakeholders
3.2.4.
Step 4 - Identify and prioritize issues
3.2.5.
Step 5 - Associate stakeholders with issues
3.2.6.
Step 6 - Implement a continuous improvement approach
3.3
Integrating the approach into the company's social responsibility policy
4.
The current state regarding gender equality
4.1
General information
4.2
Identifying stakeholders
4.3.
Conducting an overview of the situation within the organization
4.3.1.
Qualitative elements
4.3.2.
Quantitative elements
4.4 Conclusions
5.
Guidelines on gender equality
5.1.
The organization internal dimension
5.1.1.
Issue 1: Governance5.1.2.
Issue 2: Labour practices
5.1.3.
Issue 3: Raising awareness among internal stakeholders
5.1.4.
Issue 4: Support for internal stakeholders
5.2.
Activity and investments of the organization
5.2.1.
Issue 1: sustainable procurement
5.2.2.
Issue 2: Gender-responsive budgeting
5.3.
External relations of the organization
5.3.1.
Issue 1: Outreach to External Stakeholders
5.3.2.
Issue 2: Setting up partnerships
5.4.
Internal and external communication
5.4.1.
Issue 1: Editorial content
5.4.2.
Issue 2: Communication action
Annexes
Bibliography

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ANNEX 2The Fourth World Conference on Women
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action - Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995
https://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/Beijing_Declaration_and_Platform_for_Action.pdf
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS
1. Women and poverty
2. Education and training of women
3. Women and health
4. Violence against women
5. Women and armed conflict
6. Women and the economy
7. Women in power and decision-making
8. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
9. Human rights of women
10. Women and the media
11. Women and the environment
12. The girl child

Generation Equality Forum - Beijing +25 - Action Coalitions
Based on human rights principles, and through a data-driven process of consultation withinternational feminist groups, grassroots activist organizations, governments and other partners,
the selected themes of the Generation Equality Action Coalitions are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Gender-Based Violence
Economic justice and rights
Bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
Feminist action for climate justiceTechnology and innovation for Gender Equality
Feminist movements and leadership

Gender Equality Advisory Council’s recommendations
for the Biarritz Partnership for gender equality
1.
2.
3.
4.

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Ending gender-based violence
Ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education and health
Promote the economic empowerment of women
Combating discrimination, ensuring full gender equality in policies and in public life.