Sonya Bird Discusses Gender-Responsive Standards and International Partnerships in Two Latin American Fire and Safety Publications

Sonya Bird, vice president of International Standards at UL Standards & Engagement, was recently featured in two Latin American safety and security industry journals: the January-February 2023 editions of Revista Más Seguridad, a publication dedicated to issues regarding safety and security in various industries, and Revista Contra Incendio, a publication dedicated to issues in the fire prevention and protection industry. Both publications are printed for Spanish-speaking audiences.

In the Revista Más Seguridad article, “Promueve UL Standards & Engagement: Trabajar Por un Mundo Más Seguro,” Bird was interviewed on various issues, including our organization’s commitment to creating gender-responsive standards and achieving greater balance, representation, and inclusion of women in our standards development process. She also discusses our work as the first foreign standards development organization (SDO) authorized to develop standards for Mexico and our collaborative efforts with MOU partner organizations throughout Latin America. 

In the Revista Contra Incendio editorial, “UL Impulsa La Equidad De Género en el Desarollo de Estandares,” Bird addresses our commitment to gender-responsive standards and gender equity in our standards development process. She also details some of our fire safety efforts in Mexico, including the Young Professionals in Fire Safety Program, the creation of the Technical Committee for National Standardization of Fire Safety and Life-Saving Devices (CTNNSIDS), our exploratory data analysis on the fire situation in Latin America, and the forthcoming publication of two Mexican national standards (NMX) for fire protection: NMX-S-448-UL-2021, which covers centrifugal fire pumps, and NMX-S-10C-UL-2021, which covers fire doors.

UL Standards & Engagement’s first Standard developed for Mexico, NMX-S-448-UL-2021, was submitted to Mexico’s General Bureau of Standards (DGN) in November 2022 for publication after a 60-day public commenting period. Final publication is expected to take place in 2023.