ISS Published SRPS IWA 34, Women's Entrepreneurship - Key Definitions and General Criteria

Due to the growing interest on the topic of gender equality and women's entrepreneurship, ISS has published a document that belongs to the category of documents related to the standard - the International Workshop Agreement SRPS IWA 34, Women's Entrepreneurship - Key Definitions and General Criteria. This document was prepared by the ISS NTC A268, Sustainability and Social Responsibility.

SRPS IWA 34 is a translation of the International Workshop Agreement IWA 34:2021 from English to Serbian. The international document was developed during two virtual workshops, through the exchange of comments between the workshop participants. A total of 368 experts from 77 countries registered for this process. The list of experts who participated in one or both workshops, or who submitted written comments, is given in Annex A of this document. However, many more experts registered for the process, were kept informed and had the opportunity to participate and thus contribute.

This document establishes a set of definitions related to women's entrepreneurship, such as those for women-owned businesses and women-led businesses. It also includes definitions of women-led cooperatives and informal businesses led by women. The definitions can be used, for example, in programs for the economic empowerment of women (such as procurement and trade programs) and for the collection of internationally comparable data on women's entrepreneurship, including data on the impact on local and national economies. The document also contains criteria for assessing the relevant factors related to these definitions, such as ownership, leadership and management, and how the issue of dilution through investment is addressed.

This International Workshop Agreement establishes clear and universally agreed terms and definitions for use in programs and initiatives aimed at the economic empowerment of women, and thus the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, including gender-specific targets within SDG 5 on gender equality.