International Women’s Day is recognized every year on March 8. Though efforts are ongoing year-round, this month intellectual property (IP) offices worldwide come together to celebrate women’s contributions to the IP system and highlight efforts in place to further inclusion. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Invest in women: Accelerate progress.”
It is evident that women are starkly underrepresented in the IP system. Which is why participating offices are committing to empowering and supporting women and girls from all segments of society to fully engage in the innovation, entrepreneurial, and creative economy and investing in knowledge and skills-building initiatives designed to empower women with IP.
“Women hold the key to untapped innovative and economic potential world-wide,” says Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. “By minimizing barriers and introducing more women to the IP ecosystem, we not only bolster the economy, we lift communities and solve local and global problems at speed and scale.”
This statement is made by IP offices and is without prejudice to the positions of World Intellectual Property Organization's Member States in relation to IP policy.
Read the complete joint statement for International Women’s Day on the USPTO website.