Washington, D.C. – Today, UL Standards & Engagement announced the official review of its standards catalog to incorporate inclusive language by 2030. This review will cover UL Standards & Engagement’s more than 1,700 standards and documents to ensure language does not discriminate against groups of people or perpetuate stereotypes. As part of this review, UL Standards & Engagement also commits to updating its internal processes to ensure inclusive language is consistently used in the standards development process and in all new standards.
“True safety is inclusive,” said Caroline Treuthardt, senior standards project manager at UL Standards & Engagement, who is leading the initiative. “Language plays a key role in shaping cultural and social behavior, and we want to ensure that the words we use serve to empower greater safety and are consistent with our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The substantive reevaluation of the UL standards’ lexicon will require removing references and key terms that are antiquated or exclusionary. An initial review of the catalog found that more than 650 UL standards would need to be updated to ensure inclusive language. The 2030 target is driven by the need to reconvene the experts and stakeholders on ULSE’s technical committees to vote on updates.
“Our objective is to be a leader among global standards development organizations at describing products and situations accurately, not in ways that are unintentionally exclusionary,” continued Treuthardt. “We want to ensure our standards have impact and possess strong technical rigor, while ensuring there are no real or perceived barriers to participation in developing these standards.”
The inclusive language review builds on further efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, including UL Standards & Engagement’s gender action plan and the signing of the Declaration for Gender Responsible Standards and Standards Development from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe which occurred in August 2022. As a leading safety organization, UL Standards & Engagement committed to the following:
- Increase gender diversity throughout the standards development process.
- Improve understanding and technical applicability of standards requirements across genders.
- Educate standards development professionals and stakeholders on the importance of developing gender-responsive standards.
- Create guidance for standards authors on development of gender-responsive standards.
To read more about UL Standards & Engagement’s diversity equity, and inclusion efforts visit ulse.org/about/culture.
Acerca de ULSE
UL Standards & Engagement es una organización sin ánimo de lucro que traduce la ciencia de la seguridad en acción a través del desarrollo de normas, asociaciones y promoción. Desde 1903, hemos desarrollado casi 1.700 normas y documentos de orientación para productos que van desde puertas cortafuegos hasta vehículos autónomos. ULSE permite la innovación y aumenta la confianza reuniendo a expertos e informando a los responsables políticos y a los reguladores mientras trabajamos por un futuro más seguro y sostenible. Visite ulse.org para obtener más información.
Póngase en contacto con
Catie Talenti
Normas UL y compromiso
Manager, Media Relations & Strategic Positioning
P: (607) 742-8766
catie.talenti@ul.org