Annual Meeting of the Gender Responsive Standards Initiative
Annual Meeting of the Gender Responsive Standards Initiative
Meeting details
Wednesday, 24. November 2021 from 10:00 | (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris | 2 hrs 00 mins |
Meeting Background
C O N C E P T N O T E
G E N D E R R E S P O N S I V E S T A N D A R D S F O R T H E I N C L U S I V E
W O R K S P A C E : H O W G E N D E R - R E S P O N S I V E S T A N D A R D S S U P P O R T
O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H A N D S A F E T Y I N T H E T I M E S O F C O V I D - 1 9
The disruption brought by COVID-19 to our economic and social lives is unprecedented and to
effectively seize on the opportunity it presents to build, we need to support individuals and
organizations to develop harmonized, resilient, and inclusive workplaces.
Standards are critical tools to cultivate the best practice capabilities and skills required to
establish – and sustain – diverse and inclusive workplaces, and the knowledge they bring in
responding to evolving societal and technological needs – in addition to supporting adaptation –
will enable organizations to build and coordinate the management systems necessary to establish
safe, flexible work practices, manage distributed teams and optimize virtual
interactions.
However, when standards are not responsive to the distinct needs of women and girls the impact is
pervasive. The impact may be one of apparent mild inconvenience, for example when ventilation
standards based on men’s’ metabolism leave women feeling cold in the office.
However, even such seemingly benign impacts can be damaging. Research has shown that colder
temperatures lower women's cognitive abilities and productivity. As such, an organization may be
less competitive, productive, and profitable, on account of the failure of a ventilation standard
to adequately consider the needs of women.
Early evidence on the workplace impact of the pandemic has confirmed that women’s labor market
outcomes, stability and prospects have deteriorated disproportionately. This will have profound
impact in terms of health and well-being in the workplace, with reduced income, employment
instability and increased risk of occupational injury in organizations without the means to ensure
appropriate prevention measures. The rebalancing of work and the return to the distanced office
calls on managers to reimagine the workplace, to take corrective action and ensure representation
in the workforce.
Gender-responsive standards support adaptive measures for effective prevention and participation
workplace transitions to a post-Covid era, and organizations must adopt preventive measures to
mitigate the equity impact of the pandemic. Occupational health and safety (OHS) standards and
guidelines operate at the intersection of work and health, and as such are pivotal tools in the
effective reintegration of employees to an adaptive, flexible and safe working space.
Incorporating the technical management perspective and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
standpoint, this session will explore how gender responsive standards support prevention and
recovery measures, with a focus on the evolving occupational health and safety needs of all
employees.