In this article, Alex Roy explores the progress the IP industry has made in advancing diversity and inclusion over the years.
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This year, HLK is celebrating the 175th anniversary of our legacy firm, Haseltine Lake. As would be expected, the IP industry has changed vastly over this period – from modernising updates in the legal framework supporting IP protection to advancements in the types of inventions being patented. However, perhaps some of the most important changes we’ve seen has been the improved access to, and diversity within, the IP industry. To celebrate this progress, this article aims to highlight the ways in which diversity and inclusivity within the IP industry, and particularly the world of patents, has improved over the last 175 years.
For example, if we look back to 1850 – the year that Haseltine Lake was founded – there would have been very little diversity within the patent profession and those seeking patent protection in the UK. To name but a few reasons, the education, money, and societal standing required to make a career as a patent attorney, an inventor, or an entrepreneur would have excluded many from performing these roles. Indeed, according to B. Zorina Khan, a patent in 1860 that protected inventions in England alone could cost four times the per capita income that year [1] – a sum that only a privileged few would have been able to afford. When one further considers the discrimination faced by many during this time, it can easily be understood how exclusive the patent industry would have been.
It took the efforts of many pioneering figures for progress to be made in the UK and other countries. The names of some of these figures are well-documented and remembered. For example, Thomas L. Jennings is recognised as being the first black American to be granted a US patent for his novel dry-cleaning process [2]. To put this historic moment in context, in 1821 (the year in which this patent was granted), slavery was still legal in the United States, and Jennings used the earnings from his patent and other entrepreneurial ventures to help fund the abolitionist movement.
Other notable figures include Margaret Alderton and Margaret Dixon, who are widely accredited as being the first female patent attorneys in the UK, with both women becoming CIPA fellows in 1936 [3]. These women helped pave the way to the improved parity seen in our current workforce nearly 90 years later; whilst the profession is still male dominated, a 2024 survey of the CIPA membership has revealed that around 45% of trainee patent attorneys in the UK are female [4].
Usefully, this survey also highlighted other ways in which the patent profession has diversified, with the proportion of the membership identifying as heterosexual having decreased to 70%, and the proportion describing themselves as ‘white British’ having decreased to 69%. Whilst further progress is still needed for there to be true equality within the industry, the situation today is a stark contrast to that which would have been observed 175 years ago.
Part of the improved socio-economic diversity within the patent profession has resulted from a decreased expectation for new starters to have had a private or Oxbridge education. At the same time, increased outreach into schools and universities has actively encouraged those from underprivileged backgrounds to consider careers as patent attorneys. As just one example, the European Patent Pipeline Program (EPPP) has worked over recent years to provide internships to STEM students from backgrounds that are typically underrepresented in the industry. HLK was grateful to have been able to participate in and experience the many benefits of the program this last summer.
However, the improved diversity and inclusion within the patent profession should also be credited to the numerous organisations tackling the issues faced by many working within the IP industry. For example, IP inclusive (who are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year) are responsible for establishing the IP Inclusive Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Charter, which IP firms and in-house IP departments across the country have signed up to. IP Inclusive has also developed a number of working groups that are focused on addressing various issues, such as improving inclusivity for transgender colleagues and raising awareness of the challenges faced by neurodivergent colleagues and those with caring responsibilities. Other organisations, such as Jonathon’s Voice (who HLK has been honoured to support over the past decade), are working to de-stigmatise mental health issues and promote conversations about depression, anxiety, and stress in the workplace.
The diversity of those making use of the patent system in the UK is perhaps less of a success story. For example, the UK IPO reported in 2019 that the proportion of female inventors associated with patent applications increased from around 2% in 1965, to 6.8% in 1998, and to 12.7% in 2017 [5]. Whilst this is an encouraging trend, there is clearly a gender imbalance in the innovation industry that must be rectified, likely by encouraging and assisting more young women to seek careers in STEM. Furthermore, whilst the general make-up of companies found operating in 21st century Britain is a good indicator that people from an increased variety of backgrounds now have the opportunity to start, run, or otherwise contribute to businesses capitalizing on innovation, there are still systemic prejudices preventing many from progressing to high-level leadership positions. For example, it has been identified that people from minority ethnic backgrounds (and particularly women from minority ethnic backgrounds) are vastly under-represented in executive and directorship positions in the UK [6]. For these reasons, initiatives assisting female, POC, and transgender founders of spin-outs and start-ups are still vitally important.
As such, whilst diversity and inclusion in the industry has improved over the last 175 years, there are still many areas needing improvement. For this reason, it is inspiring to see that many people are regularly taking time out of their busy schedules to work to improve accessibility to the IP sector, whether that be through mentoring schemes, advocating for fair and equitable treatment of colleagues, or fighting against systemic biases and barriers. It is only via the culmination of these efforts that working life for many in the UK, and not just in the IP community, will improve over the coming years.
References
[2] https://www.thoughtco.com/thomas-jennings-inventor-1991311
[3] https://ipinclusive.org.uk/newsandfeatures/world-ip-day-2018/
[4] https://www.cipa.org.uk/report/membership-survey-results/
[6] https://www.spencerstuart.com/research-and-insight/uk-board-index/diversity