This year’s International Women’s Day (8th March) campaign theme is #BreaktheBias, calling on society to imagine a gender equal world, a world where difference is valued and celebrated.
This year’s International Women’s Day (8th March) campaign theme is #BreaktheBias, calling on society to imagine a gender equal world, a world where difference is valued and celebrated.
We are celebrating women, in all their diversity, who have risen to success despite challenges of inequality, chauvinism, stereotypes, and bias, and at the same time recognize issues that still need to be addressed. As scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, economists, engineers, lawyers and pioneers, women have been excelling in every aspect with their infinite strength, stellar determination, exceptional performance, and firm belief.
No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself. – Virginia Woolf
A 2021 survey of diversity in law firms indicated a slow but steady increase in diversity among all lawyers. Now, there are more women than ever working as legal professionals, and they have gradually started winning recognition in this arena. We can now see an increasing number of women lawyers and IP professionals including those from diverse ethnicity and ability backgrounds. We can now see women working as patent attorneys, partners, counsel, barristers, lawyers, judges, patent examiners, IP professors, patent engineers and as members of the opposition and appeal boards of the European Patent Office. It’s encouraging to see that, at university level, female students are choosing IP law and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) courses more than ever before.
The proportion of women named as inventors in patent applications has increased from 11.3% in 2006 to 16.5% in 2020 % (World Intellectual Property Indicators, 2021). Women are making revolutionary changes in fields as diverse as biotechnology, IT, astrophysics and transportation. Women inventors have been recognised for some of the most promising inventions in history – from the dishwasher to Kevlar®.
You owe it to women if you have ever used a car heater on a cold day (invented by Margaret A. Wilcox) or a windscreen wiper (patented by Mary Anderson), saved time using a dishwasher (invented by Josephine Cochran) or fitted an infant with a disposable nappy (invented by Marion Donovan). Remarkably, the foundation for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies is based on the frequency hopping technology patented by the Hollywood actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Intellectual property can be a game changer for such innovative women, as it provides exclusivity and paves the path to commercialise these innovations.
Cleveland Scott York has been supporting women in many roles at the firm during their careers, as well as supporting women inventors and innovators in their work. This International Women’s Day, we are celebrating and rejoicing the brilliance, courage, and accomplishments of every woman in intellectual property.