Page published on 30th September 2024
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On 18 September 2024, IPReg published the results of its 2024 Diversity Survey. The survey was designed to gather diversity intelligence and understand the diversity profile of registered patent and trade mark attorneys. It will aid understanding of where greater diversity in the workforce needs to be encouraged and inform the development of IPReg regulatory arrangements, operational processes and other activities. Read the survey results in full here.
The current report contains some comparative analysis with IPReg’s earlier survey findings from 2021, as well as a comparison against benchmarking data from the Legal Services Board (LSB).
Ten key findings from the survey
Caring responsibilities
- A third of all respondents have caring responsibilities – many for children, but some for adults and elderly relatives.
Disability and neurodiversity
- Under-representation of people with a disability in the professions (7%) compared with the LSB benchmark (18%).
- One in eight respondents (13%) considered themselves to be neurodivergent, roughly in line with the general population.
Social mobility
- Over-representation of people who had attended a fee-paying school in the professions (23%) compared with the LSB benchmark (7%).
- Of those who attended a state-funded school, 16% said they were eligible for free school meals, in line with the national-average.
- Under-representation of people who were the first in their family to go to university in the professions (43%) compared with the LSB benchmark (67%).
Ethnicity
- Under-representation of those of Black ethnicity (1%) compared with the LSB benchmark (3%). Other ethnic groups are generally represented in line with LSB benchmarks.
Sexual orientation and gender identity
- Slightly more diverse sexual orientation profile of IPReg registrants compared with the LSB benchmarks.
- Gender identity of IPReg registrants in line with the LSB benchmark.
Religion
- IPReg registrants are more likely to have no religion or be atheist (61%) compared with the LSB benchmark (36%).
The survey results have prompted IPReg to think about the need to re-shape the way in which CPD (continuous professional development) is carried out. They hope that the new way of assessing how professional knowledge and skill has been kept up to date is working reasonably well, and that for those who take time out in order to care for someone, the new system will be more appropriate for their return to the profession.
IP Inclusive’s take
We are pleased that equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) continue to play a key part in IPReg’s activities and future plans, in particular through its education-, training- and qualification-related activities.
IPReg’s data will be invaluable as an EDI benchmark in the patent and trade mark professions. In the longer term, we will continue to recommend that an EDI data gathering process be incorporated into IPReg’s annual registration procedures. We remain of the view that for the patent and trade mark professions, it is the regulator that is best placed to gather this data and to provide accurate diversity benchmarks for its registrants, their businesses, their clients and other legal sector regulators.
Watch out for our EDI data gathering toolkit…
Concurrently, IP Inclusive has been working with IPReg, CIPA, CITMA, the IP Federation and the IPO to develop a “toolkit” to help our Charter signatories gather EDI data with confidence. It is based on standards developed elsewhere in the legal sector and aligns with IPReg’s 2024 Diversity Survey.
The ‘toolkit’ will include:
- a template survey for patent and trade mark sector employers,
- some basic guidance on data protection and employment law,
- practical tips for optimising survey design and response rates, and
- a collection of useful resources available elsewhere.
We’ll be circulating an almost-final draft of it soon for our supporters to provide feedback before we finalise and launch the toolkit. By encouraging its use throughout the profession we can align approaches, create better benchmarks for ourselves and reassure our clients that we are all following consistent good practices.
PLEASE GET IN TOUCH
If you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions, please do get in touch with us by commenting below or via email [email protected]. You can contact IPReg via their website.