IWIB Learn & Lunch Session on Global definition of women-owned business

In 2020, The Swedish Institute for Standards (SIS) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) invited all interested stakeholders to join the development of an ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) on how to define a "woman-owned business". By developing a commonly agreed upon definition, SIS aims to lower entry barriers for women business owners to public and private procurement opportunities, and increase their access to capacity‐building programmes, incentives schemes and certification programmes.

In total, more that 350 experts from 77 countries registered to the process leading up the publication of IWA 34 Women’s Entrepreneurship – Key definitions and general criteria on March 8th 2021.

This IWA provides a definition of a woman‐owned business and other key definitions related to women’s entrepreneurship as well as sets criteria on central elements of these definitions in order to help businesses, statistical agencies, governments and international initiatives in their work.

Creating these definitions will allow…