The IEC accomplishes its work via 174 TCs and SCs (Technical Committees and Subcommittees) and close to 1 000 working groups. The 10 000 or so electrotechnology experts participating in these many working groups come from all around the world. Most are from industry, but some come from commerce, government, test and research laboratories, academia and consumer groups.

They are delegated by their IEC NC (National Committee), which is also the IEC member body. Each expert represents the combined interests of his or her national industry in the international standardization arena. Companies can participate at the international level via their IEC NC, representing the collective national viewpoint. This may seem complicated but it assures that industry interests rather than individual company interests are taken into account.

Experts prepare technical documents on specific subjects within their respective scopes. Those are then submitted to the IEC NCs for voting with a view to their approval as international standards. For a technical document to be approved as an IEC International Standard, at least 75% of all voting NCs must cast a positive vote. In this process, each country has only one vote.