Welcome to the Word to the W.I.S.E… Why Standards Matter! A podcast series brought to you by UL Standards & Engagement. In the first season we featured remarkable women who used their careers in science and engineering to create a safer, more secure and sustainable future. This season we shift our focus to gender in the development of safety standards. Why safety standards? Standards touch almost every aspect of our lives. They are a set of requirements for how products and systems must perform or are made to instil safety, security and sustainability. Standards can facilitate trade, reduce costs and support innovation. As one guest from Season 1 eloquently put it – a standard is a common language. Regardless of which company manufactures a product or in what country, it will be tested to the same core requirements found in a standard. So, the next time you see hazmat suits fit snugly on men but not women, ask yourself how we can come together to update safety standards to equally address the needs of all genders. Gender equality is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. Yet, in a world in which half the population is women, and many are leaders in the fields of science, engineering, and innovation, only 10% of standards development experts are women. Through Word to the W.I.S.E. We aim to have those conversations, build awareness, and explore future strategies to increase women’s participation in the development of both standards and technical regulation. We will also explore examples of international standards that are truly gender responsive. Remember, you too can have your say. Just use the #whystandardsmatter across social media and pose questions for us on The Word to the W.I.S.E. podcast. And we will try to address those in future episodes. Don’t forget to subscribe, rate and like us on any of your favourite podcast platforms!