Franks & Co are signatories to the IP Charter, which is an initiative by Andrea Brewster CPA, EPA, OBE, past-president of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys.
IP inclusive includes various community groups including:
• Women in IP - focused on inclusion of women in intellectual property
• IP and ME - focused on ethnic minorities in intellectual property
• IP Ability - focused on disabilities in intellectual property
• IP Out - focused on LGBT in intellectual property
• IP Futures - focused on those with less than three years post qualification experience
WHAT DOES SIGNING UP TO THE CHARTER INVOLVE?
Signing up to the IP Inclusive Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Charter is a public endorsement of the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion within the IP professions.
It involves making six commitments, which are designed to be achievable by individuals and organisations working in or with IP – in industry, private practice or the public sector, whatever their size and structure, wherever they are based and whatever the nature of their involvement with IP.
By signing up to the Charter, we commit to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion by:
- Having in place a named individual within our organisation as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Officer. This person is sufficiently senior to make change happen and to be accountable for progress.
- Having in place a written Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy which everyone in the organisation is aware of.
- Promoting openness and transparency so as to demonstrate merit-based equal opportunities in recruitment and career progression processes.
- Acknowledging the effects of unconscious bias and introducing measures to tackle it.
- Monitoring and reporting internally on our progress on equality, diversity and inclusivity.
- Sharing our experiences within the IP Inclusive community to help build an effective network for equality, diversity and inclusion across the IP sector.
Whilst not yet fully industry-standard these commitments have been designed to be achievable by the smallest to the largest organisations and we are proud to have implemented them at Franks & Co.
Article by Robert Franks robert.franks@franksco.com
Article Published January 27th, 2020
