New York, New York—September 20, 2022—The International Trademark Association (INTA) has released the Update to The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Report, reinforcing the Association’s ongoing commitment to providing meaningful data on the status of women in the intellectual property (IP) profession.
INTA published The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Report and Best Practices Toolkit in February 2021. The Association has since convened The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Project Team, composed of a diverse group of male and female IP professionals from various regions. The Project Team has prepared this Update to continue to facilitate necessary dialogues within and beyond the INTA community on several pertinent topics, including providing current research on women’s representation in the workforce in the IP field, their career advancement opportunities, and the scope of work-life integration, as well as identifying further critical data gaps in this space. The Update to The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Report highlights trends observed since the Report was originally published in early 2021 and demonstrates the unique challenges women continue to confront in the workplace, including those resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Update aligns with key directives of INTA’s 2022–2025 Strategic Plan, particularly to Support the Development of IP Professionals, as well as with the Association’s broader goals around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The Update was championed by INTA Past-President Ayala Deutsch (NBA Properties, Inc., USA), who launched The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative on International Women’s Day 2020. “This Update highlights INTA’s sustained commitment to implementing programming, research, and other activities to ensure that The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative continues to be an integral part of our Association and community,” said Ms. Deutsch.
This sentiment is shared by INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo, who emphasized that “the advancement of women within the global IP community is not only top priority for INTA, but also critical for our industry and for IP itself.”
Among the key findings, the Update found that, while continued progress has been made in women’s representation in the IP field, there is still much work to be done. For example:
- Women continue to be under-represented in leadership positions. If the advancement of women in the workforce remains at its current trajectory, it will take 132 years (from 2022) to close the gender gap worldwide.
- Women’s representation in senior management roles has increased globally since 2019. However, there are significant differences across regions and industries.
- In the IP sector, women continue to be under-represented. However, diversity and the representation of women in IP is higher than in other law firm practice areas and law firms are actively trying to advance the careers of racially and ethnically diverse lawyers, as well as LGBTQ lawyers. Clients also are increasingly demanding diverse and inclusive teams.
- Flexible work arrangements have greatly changed the working environment.
INTA is using the Update to provide guidance how to support IP practitioners throughout their career. It provides an increasingly global perspective on the issue of gender representation in the industry and is enabling The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative to be research-focused and data-driven. The need to provide a regionally focused perspective is emphasized by The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Project Team member Lara Kayode (O.Kayode and Co., Nigeria), who notes that, “management styles have had to evolve with the changing global environment.”
Upcoming Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Events and Ongoing Projects
- The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative will host a workshop at the 2022 Leadership Meeting, taking place from November 15 to November 18, 2022, in Miami, Florida, USA. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, November 15, from 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm. The focus of this workshop will be on male allyship. Attendance is limited and early registration is recommended.
- The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative also will host a workshop at the 2023 Annual Meeting, taking place from May 16 to May 20, 2023, in Singapore. The focus of this workshop will be work-life integration.
- The Women’s Leadership Initiative also will host a speaker series featuring female General Counsel, starting in February 2023.
- The INTA Bulletin will present special features devoted to women in IP.
- Throughout the coming year, The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative also will host social media campaigns, business development sessions, and a book club.
Download the Update to The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Report.
About the International Trademark Association (INTA)
The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and complementary intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation, and committed to building a better society through brands. Members include nearly 6,500 organizations, representing more than 34,350 individuals (trademark owners, professionals, and academics) from 185 countries, who benefit from the Association’s global trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network. Founded in 1878, INTA, a not-for-profit organization, is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Beijing, Brussels, Santiago, Singapore, and the Washington, D.C. Metro Area, and a representative in New Delhi. For more information, visit inta.org.