Compliance as a foundation of Advocacy: the power of ISO 53800 to reframe organisational gender equality

In 2024, I had the privilege of contributing to and leading multiple initiatives seeking to develop tangible solutions to improve Women’s representation in leadership and board positions in the UK.

While it is a meaningful year of broadening gender equality via strategic partnerships and conversations, it is also evident to my tangible deliverables-focused mind that all the great efforts are somewhat reliant on the subjective goodwill and open-mindedness of UK corporate strategists as well as SME business leaders, leaving most unaccountable and lacking essential tools to meaningfully embedding gender equality into their daily organisational practices.

Imagine my excitement when ISO 53800—Guidelines for the promotion and Implementation of gender equality and Women’s Empowerment—dropped in May 2024! ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation), whose name originates from the Greek word ‘isos’—equal—delivered the first practical guide, an auditable framework for gender equality in ISO 53800, aligned with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (UN Global Goals, 2024).

What a time to be alive!

Let me explain: I have built my career within a heavily audited, regulated, and QMS (Quality Management Systems) driven Pharma and Lifesciences logistics sector, currently managing Clinical Trials and Direct-to-Patient Operations at QuickSTAT, Kuehne and Nagel company (Kuehne + Nagel, 2024) .

This has enabled me to experience the power of ISO compliance (167 countries worldwide) to transform businesses in tangible ways. ISO compliance not only drives the organisational QMS but also empowers higher efficiency, supports a culture of accountability (auditable) at every level, and enhances business reputation.

In 2022, 42% of UK businesses became ISO 1400 (Environmental Management Systems) certified (Grinsted, 2023). The UK is winning on sustainability compliance, so why not gender equality?

Therefore, I invite you to join me in championing ISO 53800 in every room and every conversation on organisational gender equality in the UK. There is no more powerful advocacy and influence than tangible, auditable compliance, which will steer UK businesses to approach gender equality in a clear, structured, accountable and auditable manner.

Arguably, a cultural shift towards ISO 53800 compliance may be perceived as a foundational solution that doesn’t strive for the heights of equality that a polite society should expect in 2024.

I shall humbly counter that with my favourite Nietzsche quote as a young philosophy student:

‘He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk, as one cannot fly into flying’

(Nietzsche, 2007).

Featured collaborator;

Lina Kačiulis MBA, CMILT, CMgr MCMI https://www.linkedin.com/in/linakoulaouzos/

References:

Grinsted, E. (2023) Why ISO certification from a UKAS accredited Certification Body is so important [Online]. Available at https://isoqar.com/resources/blog/why-iso-certification-from-a-ukas-accredited-certification-body-is-so-important/ (Accessed 24 November 2024).

Kuehne + Nagel (n.d.) Life Science Logistics - QuickSTAT [Online]. Available at https://quickstat.com/ (Accessed 24 November 2024).

Nietzsche, F. W. (2007) Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Barnes & Noble Classics.

The UN Global Goals (2024) Goals Archive [Online]. Available at https://globalgoals.org/goals/ (Accessed 24 November 2024).