„Guidelines for the Promotion of Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Language in ISO and IEC Deliverables” and „Guidelines for Stakeholder Engagement”

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have published the “Guidelines for the Promotion of Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Language in ISO and IEC Deliverables”. This document provides a clear framework for the drafting and revision of international standards. The objective is to encourage the consistent use of terminology that is acceptable to all users, regardless of their sex, gender, race, color, or religion.

The new guidelines directly support the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular emphasis on SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). The document is intended for everyone involved in the development and adoption of standards and related deliverables. The guidelines help make standards more globally relevant and free of barriers to use.

Regarding the guiding principles and the replacement of outdated (deprecated) terms, the focus is first on eliminating bias and stereotypes, as inclusive terminology conveys respect for everyone, prevents discrimination and exclusion, and fosters better collaboration among experts. Furthermore, there is a strict policy on phasing out controversial connotations, meaning that terms carrying negative or exclusionary socio-cultural connotations in a technical context, such as "blacklist" and "whitelist", have been officially deprecated. The guidelines also mandate people-first language, meaning that instead of referring to a condition or disability, formulations such as "person with a disability" must be used rather than outdated and deprecated synonyms. Finally, the guidelines advise avoiding gender-coded terms, ensuring that technical descriptions of objects, occupations, or titles are not unnecessarily gendered.

The guidelines require all new documents to be developed using inclusive language from the very beginning. For existing standards, where certain non-inclusive technical terms are deeply embedded in laws, contracts, or machine languages, a gradual transition in practice (i.e., a phased approach) is planned. During this transitional period, outdated terms in revisions are marked as "deprecated" in the terms and definitions section, while the new inclusive term is listed first as the recommended option in the text itself.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released the new “Guidelines for Stakeholder Engagement” to ensure that all voices are heard in the standards-setting process. This document directly supports the achievement of the "ISO Strategy 2030" goals. The objective is to create more inclusive and globally relevant standards that are prepared for future challenges.

The guidelines are intended for National Standards Bodies (NSBs), committees, and working groups. They provide practical steps for finding, attracting, and retaining a diverse pool of experts. A special emphasis is placed on involving currently underrepresented groups, which particularly includes civil society, youth, and new categories of professionals.

Several key elements define these new guidelines. First, they establish clearly defined participant categories by precisely classifying stakeholders into eight groups, which include industry, government authorities, consumers, labor unions, academia, independent certification bodies, and non-governmental organizations. Second, they focus on monitoring balance and participation, tasking national bodies with regularly reviewing committee composition to prevent the dominance of individual interests and promote gender and geographical diversity. Third, they emphasize digital accessibility by highlighting the importance of virtual meetings and the Online Standards Development (OSD) platform, which facilitate collaborative drafting, commenting on drafts during public inquiry, and voting. Lastly, the guidelines introduce stricter activity rules that foresee the removal of experts who are persistently inactive, recommending the exclusion of members who miss two consecutive working group meetings.

The processes described in the brochure rely on the six core principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which are openness, transparency, consensus-building, global participation, and reliance on international best practices. Consensus remains a key pillar, with the emphasis that general agreement does not necessarily mean unanimity in decision-making.

The translation of these two publications into the Serbian language was provided by students of the Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade, during their internship at the Institute for Standardization of Serbia (ISS). They are now publicly available at the following link: https://iss.rs/sr_Cyrl/promotivne-publikatsije_p609.html