Three reasons why the UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights should prioritise gender

This week the UK government takes the historic step of becoming one of the first institutions to make an official statement on how companies should operationalize the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, more commonly known as the Ruggie Principles. Leading the process to formalize the ambitious but sometimes vague standards laid out in the Principles deserves to be applauded. However, because it is the first such initiative, and one that both governments and business will look to in order to judge the long-term viability of much of the business and human rights agenda, there is heavy pressure to get it right.