Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies requirements and provides guidelines for establishing, developing, implementing, evaluating, maintaining and improving an effective diversity management system within an organization. It describes how governance can link diversity to value creation and task solving. This document covers the following aspects of diversity: age, gender, level of disability, ethnicity, life stance, cultural background, class, gender identity and sexual orientation, differences in education, experience, competence, interests and family situation. Inclusion is an element of the diversity management concept.

This document is applicable to all types of organizations, bodies, groups and teams regardless of size, organizational structure or sector, private and public, both within and beyond the employer/employee scope. It is applicable to diversity management within a region, country or community and for voluntary work.

EXAMPLE: An organization could be a company, community, board, school, academic institutions, voluntary organization, authority or sports section.

All requirements specified in this document that refer to a governing body apply to top management in cases where an organization does not have a governing body as a separate function.

The standard does not provide:

- Guidance on Human Resource Management support activities related to diversity and inclusion as covered in ISO 30415

- Guidance on how to approach social responsibility, corporate social responsibility or other activities that can be categorized as providing help for marginalized groups, see ISO 26000.

Purpose

Diversity management aims to acknowledge, embrace and use diversity as a potential, an advantage, benefit and basis for value creation and sustainability, and to have a systematic approach during this process.

Diversity management is the diversity competence and diversity maturity expressed in practice through leadership. A Diversity Manager knows about the differences between individuals, builds an inclusive culture for all, and utilizes the differences as strengths to activate more human capital and achieve organization aims. In addition, diversity management is a horizontal way of thinking, collaborating and interacting between different persons and different cultures.