A/HRC/41/43 Annex Gender guidance for the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights Guiding principle 1 1. States must take appropriate steps to ensure that all business enterprises operating within their territory and/or jurisdiction respect women’s human rights. All State policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication to prevent, investigate, punish and redress all forms of discrimination, harassment and violence against women should integrate the gender framework and guidance for the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 2. Illustrative actions: (a) States should address, including through temporary special measures, root causes of discriminatory power structures that operate against women and that prevent the achievement of substantive equality in all spheres; (b) States should revise existing legislation that directly or indirectly discriminates against women and take effective measures to eliminate sexual harassment and gender-based violence against women, so that women can have access to opportunities on an equal basis with men; (c) States should encourage and incentivize business enterprises to contribute to achieving substantive gender equality to enable the enterprises to discharge their responsibility to respect women’s human rights; (d) States should ensure the participation of women and women’s organizations in taking legal and policy measures to implement, including through a national action plan and other such means, the Guiding Principles; (e) States should integrate a gender perspective in mandatory human rights due diligence laws, including those concerning modern slavery and transparency in supply chains; (f) States should ensure that State-based judicial and non-judicial mechanisms are responsive to additional barriers faced by women in seeking effective remedies for business-related human rights abuses. Guiding principle 2 3. States should not only provide guidance but also create incentives and disincentives to encourage all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction to respect women’s human rights throughout their operations, including in supply chains. 4. Illustrative actions: (a) States should work collectively to create international frameworks that require business enterprises to respect women’s human rights and eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment and gender-based violence wherever they operate; (b) States should encourage business enterprises to appoint a certain percentage of women to their boards and report on the gender pay gap throughout their operations; (c) States should use their diplomatic and trade missions to provide guidance and support to businesses operating overseas on how to respect women’s human rights when faced with discriminatory norms or practices;  All references to “women” in the guidance should be understood to include girls as well as transgender and intersex women. 14