WSIS Forum 2021 This session on “Standards for inclusive workplace & ICT readiness: Ensuring inclusiveness and connectivity” will address the question whether standards could be effective instruments to achieve and ensure fair treatment and equitable outcomes for older persons and/or all people. By 2030, 1.4 billion or 16.5% of the total worldwide population will be older than 60 years of age and the majority of the older persons will reside in the developing countries, living with their families and sharing household duties. Here ICT and related AI technology could play an enabling role for the older persons to participate meaningfully in the family and community activities should certain basic conditions could be met. However, in a 2020 report, Deloitte mentioned there are many concerns about AI-enabled technologies. The same sentiment is expressed in the discussions within the AI for Good Conferences. “AI Algorithms embedded in digital and social media technologies can reinforce societal biases, accelerate the spread of rumours and disinformation, amplify echo chambers of public opinion” (Guszcza, Ammanath & Kuder, 2020). A proposal was made to ensure algorithm fairness in the AI circles. However, what is “fair algorithm”? The debate mostly centred on procedure fairness versus distributive fairness. The former emphasises fair treatment while the latter relates to equitable outcomes. How to prevent amplification of implicit societal biases concerning gender and age? How to avoid that algorithm biases leads to unfairness in hiring or lending decisions? Being excluded from getting affordable and easy access to the digital services is impacting all age groups, especially older population and women. Yet, such deprivation is only the visible tip of the iceberg. The lack of hardware, such as PC, tablet, smart phones, or broadband infrastructure is readily observable however the exclusions that take place beneath the waterline is more insidious and harder to detect. To benefit from digitalisation tends to be dependent on the mastery of daily use of APPs. Digital literacy, confidence and psychology of security, and minimum competencies in dealing with privacy and security of personal data are some of the entry points to incapacitate individual persons to participate in the digital world. There is also an emerging trend in questioning underlining principles and assumptions concerning algorithm that are used to construct AI and other decision-making support which could be a starting point to remedy some of the more fundamental reasons that disfavoured women or older persons. Standardisation, as a soft regulatory instrument involving all stakeholders could be an interim intervention to deal with some of these less visible yet large impact issues. These issues either exclude the participation of the older persons in the information society or undermine their wellbeing by depriving them access to learning and other opportunities for retaining self-efficacy and positive self-image for as long as possible. In this sense, ICT and related application standards could effectively contribute to the attainment of the goals laid down by the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing! This session will focus on the possible negative impact of digitalisation on the rights and wellbeing of older persons.