National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN ISO 53800:2025. It is identical to ISO 53800:2024. It supersedes BS ISO 53800:2024, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee EDI/337.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 May 2024.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 18 August 2025.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

European foreword

The text of ISO 53800:2024 has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TMBG "Technical Management Board - groups” of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has been taken over as EN ISO 53800:2025 by CCMC.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2026, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by February 2026.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

Endorsement notice

The text of ISO 53800:2024 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 53800:2025 without any modification.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Project Committee ISO/PC 337, Guidelines for the promotion and implementation of gender equality.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

Despite real progress, gender inequalities and gender-based discrimination still remain widespread throughout the world in all areas.

Societal gender role expectations towards female and male behaviour are reflected in the very functioning of organizations, including their culture, processes, and hierarchies. The persistent gender inequalities within organizations mirror the structural discrimination faced by women and girls in society. For example, five out of ten women worldwide are integrated into the labour market, compared with nine out of ten men.^[¹^] Still, once employed, women, worldwide, only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.^[²^] Women are still in the minority in governing bodies^[³^] and other positions of power. Concurrently, paid and unpaid labour is unequally distributed, with women and girls spending more time than men and boys on unpaid care and domestic work^[⁴^]. Finally, according to estimates by the World Health Organization, almost one in three women worldwide reports having been the victim of physical or sexual violence in her lifetime, not counting psychological, economic and social forms of violence.^[⁵^]

Every year, the World Economic Forum publishes the Global Gender Gap Report, an analysis that reveals the context of gender inequality in different regions of the world.^[⁶^]

The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines, definitions, procedures and tools (including a framework, resources, policies, tools and good practices) to public and private organizations to encourage, support and guide them in making sustainable progress in promoting and achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, both internally and externally. It is intended to promote a common understanding on the issue of gender equality and to complement other instruments and initiatives on the subject. Additionally, this document has been developed in a manner consistent with other ISO initiatives and instruments such as ISO 30415. It aims to provide guidance to organizations in fulfilling their obligations in relation to gender equality and the UN's 2030 Agenda (in particular SDG5 on gender equality).^[⁸^] Beyond that, it addresses the underlying culture and behaviours, and proposes an approach, operational methods and tools for achieving an organization's stated objectives. Recognizing the differences in resources available, the intention of this document is to provide practical guidance for SMEs and small entities, as well as larger organizations, in line with their specific requirements.

While women are generally more disadvantaged in areas such as the labour market, unpaid care work and sexual and gender-based violence, gender-based discrimination can also affect men and boys in certain aspects of life, particularly when they do not conform to traditionally recognized perceptions of gender roles, which can have negative impacts on their lives and health, including their mental health. Therefore, in order to address gender inequality, it is important to identify how particular actions or omissions by the organization affect gender equality. It is only once this has been completed that the gender imbalance can be identified and the appropriate actions to remedy the imbalance be determined. This is an underlying principle of this document.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are not only women’s issues but need to be addressed by everyone and every organization. It is seen both as a human rights issue, as well as a prerequisite and indicator of sustainable people-centred development. As such, addressing gender equality is a core pillar of any organization’s social responsibility, including its environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda. All organizations are in a position to take measures to promote gender equality, taking into account the maturity, nature, size and objectives of the organization.

The existence of a positive relationship between gender equality and economic and social development has already been demonstrated. It can be perceived as a lever and a source of better outcomes for the organization, and possibly be integrated in the organization's social responsibility policy (if it exists) or any other relevant policies.

Numerous studies^[⁹^]-[¹¹^] suggest that promoting gender equality has benefits for organizations: reduced employee turnover, quality recruitment, a stronger, more productive and innovative working environment, effective collaboration, leading to better performance and achieving more accurate results. Equitable leadership improves decision-making, and for-profit organizations can boost their profitability (e.g. by broadening their customer base, as well as by identifying new markets and reducing retention costs).

In this document, the objectives of gender equality are based on the understanding that gender is a social construct. The inequalities targeted are not based on biological criteria, but arise from social norms and constructs assimilated or projected onto every individual through socialization processes. However, the document also acknowledges and addresses those inequalities that are experienced as a result of biological criteria, such as sexual and reproductive health.

While recognizing the existence of other gender identities, this document specifically focuses on the inequality resulting from the hierarchical organization of the gender-specific roles assigned to women and men, girls and boys, due to their prominently structural character on a society-wide scale.

1 Scope

This document gives guidance on how to promote and implement gender equality and women’s empowerment. It provides guidelines for organizations to develop the capabilities to achieve a culture of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The guidelines include the framework, resources, policies, tools and good practices for contextualizing, promoting and implementing gender equality.

This document focuses on the inequality resulting from the gender specific roles assigned to women, girls, men and boys and is applicable to all types of organizations (public or private), regardless of their size, location or field of activity.

This document does not address the specific aspects of relations with labour unions or work councils, nor the country-specific regulations and compliance relating to gender diversity.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Methodology

4.1 Overview of the methodology

4.2 Steps in the implementation of the methodology

4.3 Integrate the approach into the organization’s sustainability and social responsibility policy

4.4 Organization's status regarding gender equality

4.5 Collecting and analysing data on the status of gender equality within the organization

5 Guidelines on gender equality

5.1 Internal dimension of the organization

5.2 Activity and investments of the organization

5.3 External relations of the organization

5.4 Internal and external communication

Bibliography

BS EN ISO 53800:2025

Guidelines for the promotion and implementation of gender equality and women’s empowerment

Current

Published:

30 Nov 2025