The 50–30 Challenge

The 50–30 Challenge aims for participating organizations to achieve two key goals in their boards and senior management:

• Gender parity (50%): Equal representation of women and men.
• Significant representation of underrepresented groups (30%): This includes visible minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTQ2+ individuals, and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.

How It Works

Over 1,910 companies have signed up for the Challenge. By participating, they gain access to resources and programs to help meet their diversity goals. Companies that reach certain milestones may receive incentives linked to government support.

Our Role (SCC)

The Government of Canada is collaborating with the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to create standards for this initiative. In 2021, SCC worked with the Diversity Institute to produce a public specification for the 50–30 Challenge, which defines important terms and processes involved in the Challenge.

SCC is now partnering with the Diversity Institute again to create two key documents for promoting gender equality and diversity in Canadian workplaces:

1. A public specification that offers guidance for self-assessment and tools for organizations to track their progress.
2. A technical specification detailing requirements for third-party certification.

SCC's expertise lies in bringing together experts and key players to develop collaborative, consensus-based solutions.

The Health Standards Organization, which develops standards with input from experts and those with lived experience, is one of the participating organizations.

For more details on the 50–30 Challenge, you can visit the official document here.

Relevance to All Standards Project

This initiative showcases how standards can promote inclusivity and diversity in leadership roles within different organizations. The SCC’s efforts to develop standards for the 50–30 Challenge can be a useful model for exploring inclusivity practices within standards development processes in Canada.