Update on IPIC’s EDI Initiatives from IPIC President Louis-Pierre Gravelle

With the ongoing pandemic, recent national and worldwide political developments and invasions, it is easy to become overwhelmed by incessant stream of bad news. Now more than ever it is important to also recognize our members, not only for your endurance and resilience over these past two years but for the dedication, passion and professionalism you have always brought to our association and to the IP profession.

It is critical for IPIC to continue to celebrate our members and the important work you continue to accomplish amidst these challenges.  This is one of the reasons why IPIC continues to raise the profile of our profession and of our members through our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) related activities.

As you know IPIC introduced EDI as a new Strategic Goal area in 2021, one that not only underlies and informs our other three Strategic Goal areas but also stands on its own. With this goal in mind IPIC is committed to becoming a leader on EDI issues, starting with our own organization, and will identify concrete steps we can take to help the IP profession and industry embrace EDI best practices.

With Black History Month coming to an end earlier this week and International Women’s Day taking place next week we wanted to take the opportunity to spotlight some of our incredible members and their incredible achievements. In celebration of Black History Month which occurs annually throughout the month of February IPIC highlighted members and leaders in the #IP profession through a series of member Spotlights which were widely shared on social media. These spotlights help to promote the significant contributions those members have made to the IP profession and bring awareness to the challenges they have faced in their careers. Each Spotlight also includes insights and advice to inspire the next generation of IP leaders. To view IPIC’s Black History Month Member Spotlights please visit our UnscrIPted blog.

Next week IPIC will also spotlight women leaders in the IP profession through our International Women's Day Member Spotlights, trailblazers of this association and of the IP profession. Marked annually on March 8th International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Participation has been increasing worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements and rally for women's equality. This year's campaign theme ‘Break the Bias,’ underscores that simply knowing that bias exists isn’t enough; action is needed to level the playing field. In celebration of this day IPIC will highlight prominent women members who are just some of the many incredible women within the IP profession. Stay tuned to IPIC’s social media channels on Tuesday March 8th and our UnscrIPted blog to view these spotlights.

IPIC also continues to make great strides in its EDI initiatives. In late 2021 IPIC finalized its agreement for a $506,000 EDI grant from the Department for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE)’s Feminist Response and Recovery Fund. Requests for proposals will soon be released to a number of EDI luminaries to help in our efforts to assemble and engage with subject matter experts on different aspects of the program. We are also extremely thankful for the ongoing support we have received from members connecting us to experts and resources to guide us on this important journey. IPIC staff and leaders continue exploring Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) resources to identify how GBA+ can enhance the responsiveness, effectiveness, and outcomes of our programs, education, and policies. 

 Stay tuned to our weekly IP Newsbreak and our UnscrIPted blog for more EDI developments.