EDGE Global Standards Review 2024–2025

At EDGE Certified Foundation, our Global Standards lay the groundwork for organizations to achieve gender and intersectional equity in the workplace, fostering lasting impact both within and beyond the organization.

The EDGE Certified Foundation Board oversees the development and revision of the standards, making final decisions on whether to adopt new or updated standards.

Our approach to standards setting and revision is grounded in three core principles:

• That the EDGE Standards have real world impact.
• That the EDGE Standards are credible.
• That the EDGE Standards and Certification System is rigorous.

In 2024, we have embarked upon a comprehensive review and revision of the EDGE Global Standards and Certification Requirements. This review focuses on six key objectives:

• To clarify and simplify the EDGE Global Standards where possible and relevant for those using them in EDGE Assessments and Certification processes.
• To ensure the EDGE Global Standards are accessible by remaining cost-effective (i.e., necessary and sufficient) and fair for users.
• To ensure changes to the EDGE Global Standards are supported by evidence relevant to closing gender and intersectional equity gaps in the workplace.
• To ensure the EDGE Global Standards continue to be material, i.e., demonstrably relevant, to gender and intersectional equity in the workplace, and complement and support business-organizational objectives relating to talent management and human capital strategies.
• To maintain the credibility, rigour, and impact of the global EDGE Global Standards for gender and intersectional equity.
• To ensure the EDGE Global Standards continue to be verifiable for certification purposes.

Our standards development process will be guided by a dedicated Technical Committee that plays an active role in shaping these standards by carefully reviewing proposals from the EDGE Certified Foundation Executive. We are deeply grateful to the Technical Committee for their time and commitment in helping us ensure that EDGE Certified Foundation upholds standards that are credible, rigorous, and impactful.

The EDGE stakeholder community—comprising EDGE Certification clients, EDGE Strategy AG, EDGE-approved Certification Bodies, EDGE Advisory Councils, and other interested parties—can provide ongoing feedback about EDGE Standards and their experiences using them.

The Technical Committee meeting will take place from 15 to 17 of October 2024. The consultation period will be open until Tuesday, 3 December 2024.