National implementation processes for the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: towards gender-responsive approaches

Abstract

Women are disproportionately and differently affected by adverse business-related human rights impacts. Despite this, to date there has arguably been too little attention to the rights of women and girls in processes to implement the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), including National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights (NAPs). This poses a problem for states and other actors involved in such processes, as inadequate attention to the rights of women and girls risks perpetuating and normalising the systemic discrimination faced by women and girls in societies. This article identifies gaps in gender analysis of five select business and human rights topics (labour; land; essential services; trade and investment; and remedy) and provides suggestions as to how states might strengthen their gender focus when addressing these topics in their NAPs. We argue that UNGPs national implementation processes must be gender responsive if they are to make a meaningful contribution to addressing gender discrimination and bringing about substantive equality. To conclude, we examine the 2019 Gender Guidance from the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, which provides a useful framework for how this may be achieved in practice, and suggest that it should be utilised by states in UNGPs implementation processes going forward.