SDG 10 and ISO/UNDP 53001: reduced inequalities through the audit lens
In an ISO 53001 system, SDG 10 is audited only when the organisation has selected it from its context. The auditor then checks that the inequalities in scope are named, that they stem from real activity (recruitment, access to services, pay, purchasing), that a measurable objective covers them and that top management reviews the results.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
A goal about the distance between people
SDG 10, Reduced inequalities, is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 within the 2030 Agenda. It deals with differences in circumstances within countries and between them: income, access to rights, participation in economic life, the mobility of people.
That framing shapes how ISO 53001 treats SDG 10. Unlike SDG 5, the goal does not name one particular group. The organisation therefore has to say which inequalities it actually influences: the ones its own decisions can create, entrench or narrow. A disparity that none of its processes touches does not belong in the management system.
Organisations frequently concerned and generic issues
| Type of organisation | SDG 10 issue the auditor may come across |
|---|---|
| Bank, insurer, microfinance institution | Conditions of access to credit or cover depending on the customer profile; refusals and the reasons recorded for them |
| Digital platform, service operator | Accessibility of services for people with disabilities or with limited equipment |
| Labour-intensive employer | Pay and career progression gaps between staff categories, agency workers and subcontracted labour |
| Local authority, social housing provider | Geographical distribution of services, allocation criteria |
| Group operating in several countries | Differences in social protection and pay between subsidiaries for comparable roles |
Bringing SDG 10 into the management system
The standard asks the organisation to choose its priority SDGs from its context and then to attach objectives and monitoring indicators to them. For SDG 10, the auditor traces that chain back to the analysis of internal and external issues and of the expectations of interested parties set out in clause 4 of the standard.
Next come objectives in the sense of clause 6 on planning: an identified population or process, a baseline, a deadline. Promoting inclusion, stated as such, cannot be audited; narrowing the difference in waiting time between two customer groups can. Measuring and analysing the results falls under clause 9, performance evaluation.
If SDG 10 is set aside, the auditor expects the context analysis to say why, for instance because the organisation has no real lever on the gaps concerned. The overall framework is described in the guide to the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
What the auditor examines for SDG 10 (ISO 53001)
Sampling focuses on the processes where the gap is created. Interviews, document review and file testing complement one another.
- Evidence of the disparity: the organisation holds broken-down data (by site, contract status, age band, disability, as far as local law allows such data to be collected) that shows the inequality it targets.
- The link to decisions: the allocation rule, pay scale or pricing policy that produces the gap has been identified.
- The objective and its indicator: the organisation has quantified the gap at the outset, and the indicator shows whether it is shrinking.
- The voice of those affected: the customers, employees or service users who bear the inequality appear among the interested parties consulted.
- Top management's decisions: management review minutes show that the results were discussed and influenced a decision.
Typical findings on SDG 10
- A diversity policy put forward as evidence for SDG 10 when no specific inequality has been characterised.
- An input indicator (number of awareness sessions held) with no outcome indicator on the gap itself.
- Data gathered at a single site and presented as representative of the whole certified scope.
- Subcontractors and temporary workers left out of the analysis although they account for most of the observed gap.
- An annual report announcing reduced inequalities with no series of measurements to back it up.
Frequently asked questions
Is SDG 10 one of the goals every organisation has to address?
No. SDG 10 is not part of the common core of the standard. It enters the system when the context analysis shows that the organisation influences a given inequality. The auditor then checks that this choice is consistent with the activity and with the interested parties, and assesses the quality of the objectives and monitoring that follow from it.
How does auditing SDG 10 differ from auditing SDG 5?
SDG 5 concerns equality between women and men. SDG 10 covers a broader range of gaps: income, disability, geographical origin, employment status, access to services. The auditor therefore expects the organisation to specify which of these inequalities it targets and why, rather than reusing the indicators it already tracks for SDG 5.
Can SDG 10 be measured without sensitive personal data?
Often, yes. Aggregated indicators such as processing times, acceptance rates or pay gaps by job category are frequently enough. The auditor checks that data collection complies with the applicable law and that the chosen indicator genuinely reflects the targeted gap, without demanding information that the law forbids the organisation to gather.