A/HRC/41/43 (d) Business associations, including of micro- and small enterprises, should raise awareness among their members and build the capacity of those members to practise gender equality. Guiding principle 15 29. Business enterprises should integrate the gender framework and guidance in all policies and processes put in place to implement all aspects of their responsibility to respect human rights under the Guiding Principles, namely, making a policy commitment, conducting human rights due diligence and remediating any adverse human rights impacts caused or contributed to. 30. Illustrative actions: (a) Business enterprises should use tools such as the Women’s Empowerment Principles Gender Gap Analysis Tool to assess the nature and extent of gender discrimination throughout their operations as well as the effectiveness of their gender equality measures; (b) Business enterprises should integrate gender equality as a cross-cutting issue in all policies, processes and strategies across all departments, rather than treating it merely as a diversity or inclusion issue relevant only for the human resources department. Guiding principle 16 31. Business enterprises should embed their commitment to respect women’s human rights and to contribute to achieving substantive gender equality in a gender equality policy that is developed from the bottom up in a participatory manner but adopted at the highest level. Such a policy may be a stand-alone document or integrated in an enterprise’s generic human rights policy. 32. Illustrative actions: (a) Business enterprises should develop, and review periodically, a gender equality policy in meaningful consultation with women, women’s organizations, women human rights defenders and gender experts; (b) The gender equality policy should: (i) Make a reference to the relevant international standards, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and draw on the gender framework and guidance for the Guiding Principles; (ii) Take account of the intersectional nature of discrimination; (iii) Include measurable targets and indicators and clearly outline what is expected from business partners; (iv) Be communicated to all internal and external stakeholders, including women employees and workers, in an accessible language and format; (v) Be integrated in the operational processes of all departments; (c) Business enterprises should allocate necessary funds and identify responsible persons to implement the gender equality policy; (d) Business enterprises should annually disclose sex-disaggregated data concerning the progress made throughout their operations as per the indicators outlined in the gender equality policy. Guiding principle 17 33. Business enterprises should explicitly integrate a gender perspective in carrying out all steps of human rights due diligence as per the Guiding Principles. The ongoing human rights due diligence should cover both actual and potential adverse impacts on women’s 20