Our 22 June 2020 Diversity in IP breakfast had the theme “Allies & intersectionality”. It’s a topic that’s becoming increasingly important as under-represented groups begin to find their way to greater freedom and equality and we all begin to appreciate the need to work together for change.
“Intersectionality” is the idea that all of the different diversity strands (ethnicity, sexuality, gender, etc) are interwoven throughout the fabric of our community. We need to collaborate across the areas of overlap, looking beyond individual diversity labels, and recognise that people often fall into more than one so-called minority group, that in fact each of us has a unique and multi-faceted identity, and – importantly – that each of us can be an ally for other under-represented groups, even when we belong to one or more of them ourselves.
Inspired by that June 2020 breakfast, we’ve created a mini-series of talks from people for whom intersectionality has particular significance. These volunteers are kindly sharing their thoughts and experiences of what makes a good ally and how we can bring people together, across boundaries, transcending labels, in pursuit of diversity and inclusion. The series begins with the two speakers from the breakfast, Parminder Lally and Daniel Winterfeldt, who will be followed by others involved in our five networking and support communities. You can access the recordings through the links below:
- Episode 1: Parminder Lally (patent attorney and senior associate at Appleyard Lees; IP Inclusive champion) – including thoughts on being both BAME and female
- Episode 2: Daniel Winterfeldt (solicitor and partner at Reed Smith; founder and Chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum) – with practical suggestions for engaging allies through, and between, individual support communities
- Episode 3: Jonathan Andrews (associate solicitor at Reed Smith; IP Ability committee member; trustee of Ambitious About Autism and Stonewall; founder and co-chair of the London Bisexual Network) – including ideas about bringing your whole self to interviews and about allyship in client relations
- Episode 4: Chris Clarke (patent attorney at Vectura; IP Ability committee member) – a discussion about what allies can do to support colleagues who are carers
- Episode 5: Isobel Barry (patent attorney and senior associate at Carpmaels & Ransford) and Triona Desmond (senior trade mark attorney at Pinsent Masons) – thoughts on being both LGBTQ+ and female, and on the “Power Flower” model of privilege and responsibility
You may also be interested in our North of England network’s series of “Ask Me Anything” recordings, which answer the questions you’ve always wanted to ask about being a better ally to people in under-represented groups.