Women in Intellectual Property….and at Barker Brettell

With the launch of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorney’s “Diversity Taskforce”, the proportion of women and people from different ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds within the Intellectual Property (IP) profession has been drawn into the spotlight.

As part of Barker Brettell’s aim to make the IP profession welcoming and inclusive, Katie Howe went to Bradfield School, Sheffield, to speak to Year 9 to Year 13 girls about her experiences of being a “woman in science” so far, and how that led to her role as a trainee patent attorney.

The girls took on the roles of inventors, patent attorneys and examiners, and learned about what can and cannot be patented.  More importantly, they saw that not all scientists are men in white coats…

A quick review of IP practice website lists of partners revealed that, on average, women make up less than 30% of the partners.  At Barker Brettell, we are pleased to say that 10 of our 23 partners are female, beating the average by over 10%.

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