Standards are ubiquitous and affect all aspects of our lives, though not equally for men and women because of anthropometry differences and the traditional prevalence of men in technical standards creation. In the process of international standards development, countries set up Mirror Committees to represent their interests and vote in favor of decisions that will benefit their economies. Chairs in those committees play a critical role in shaping the outcome of standardization processes. Yet, empirical studies on standardization from a gender perspective, and more specifically the relationship between gender and leadership positions in standard development activities have been scant. This paper fills this gap using the 2019 Standards Council of Canada Members’ Satisfaction Survey and logistic regressions. We find that women members of Canadian Mirror Committees are significantly less likely than their male counterparts to serve as chairs. However, among committee members, experience or the number of years served on mirror committees increases the likelihood of taking up leadership positions, and particularly so for women from visible minorities. These findings have important policy implications regarding the reduction of gender disparities in standardization, intersectionality, and the retention and training of women
