Q1 Do you believe that it is important to have more women involved in the IP system?

Most definitely! As businesswomen we are equal contributors to economic growth, and it is critical that we understand the importance of protecting our ideas, brands, and status in the world of business.

Q2 Have you noticed a gender gap in your industry? Is the situation changing?

In terms of IP systems there is definitely a gender-gap. It is clear that the technology and innovation sector is highly male dominated. However, I believe as we are seeing more women stepping into entrepreneurial roles there will be a change. According to an from Forbes, report shows that even though women are less likely to start tech companies, they are just as innovative when creating products and services that are as technologically advanced as their male counter parts.

Q3 Do you think it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding (and, therefore, be able to afford IP costs)?

Yes, it can be quite difficult. From my own experience as a female entrepreneur in the service sector, I have had my share of challenges. I had to first overcome my fear of starting a business and secondly, I was uncertain about how I would protect my company, my brand, and my hard work. Thirdly, it can be very difficult to communicate the value of what you are offering when the majority of funding opportunities are allocated to innovation in the technology sector, which is male dominated versus the service sector. I encourage other female entrepreneurs to find creative ways to protect their ideas/brands until they can afford to do so in the proper way.

Q4 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

Yes, in my personal experience as a female entrepreneur, one of my biggest challenges was the fear of failure. I have always felt like friends, family, and colleagues have expected so much of me. I was held in high regard and this added pressure to ensure success. My fear of failure escalated to the point where I didn’t want to start my business because of worry that I could not meet the necessary expectations of others.  In addition to my fear of failure, I have found that there is a lack of quality resources within the community to educate, support and encourage female entrepreneurs in their business endeavours. I also had challenges finding a suitable mentor because again there was the fear of not being respected in the field, the worry of being exploited by a more experienced individual and the concern that a male mentor could possibly sexually harass me.

As a female entrepreneur, we are sometimes asked to choose between our careers and family and if we decide to not have a family and focus on our career we suffer judgement by others. In addition to dealing with society expectations and judgements, we sometimes struggle to get a “seat at the table” or have opportunities readily accessible to us due to gender and societal bias. Some individuals may assume that we are not equipped to the do our job based simply on gender, and this can subsequently lead to methods that undermine our efforts and increase challenges. I encourage my fellow female entrepreneurs to have faith, trust the process, and to step out boldly into the light. Never give up on your dreams.

Q5 How can the innovation and IP ecosystems become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

Wow! This is a very good question. I believe the first step would be to talk openly with those that are affected and to get the policy makers, government and the wider society involved in the conversation. Secondly it is important to ensure we understand the challenges that underrepresented groups such as female entrepreneurs face. With the proper data gathered we could then create measurable actions that are intentional about reaching out and creating change. I believe in order for change to be sustainable there needs to be a system of accountability, as such, there would need to be continuity in the measures put in place to ensure that inclusivity is being maintained.

Q6 What types of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

As female entrepreneurs, I believe these are would be very beneficial.

1) More access to funding, grants, resources and support for female ventures.
2) Workshops/Seminars geared towards navigating entrepreneurship as a female.
3) More nationwide policies to protect the interests of women who want to go into business.

The post #WorldIPDay Spotlight on Venessa J. Bloom: Providing life-enriching home care services through Amblecare Health Services appeared first on IPOsgoode.

The Business Services Branch (BSB) is responsible for developing CIPO's overall service strategy to deliver quality services that are timely, client-centric and help promote a culture of service management excellence throughout the organization. In addition, the branch is responsible for designing and delivering a suite of IP products, training tools and services to raise awareness among small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators to bolster innovation, competitiveness and long-term growth.

Previously Darlene was the chairperson of the Trademarks Opposition Board and from 2003 to 2008 was a legal counsel with the Department of Justice where she practiced trademark law and her primary responsibility was acting as trademark legal counsel to the Registrar of Trademarks and the Trademarks Opposition Board. From 1998 to 2003, she was a trademark associate lawyer in the Intellectual Property Group of Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP.

Ms. Carreau received her LL.B from the University of Ottawa in 1996 and her B. Soc. Sc. from the University of Ottawa in 1993. She was called to the bar of the Province of Ontario in 1998. She is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and a registered trademark agent in Canada.

Darlene Carreau

Q1 Why is it important that more women get involved in the IP system?

Women are still traditionally underrepresented in areas that rely heavily on IP. Most notably, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are heavy users of the patent system but have a striking disparity, where women make up only one third of graduates in this field. Getting women involved in the IP system will therefore encourage different voices, perspectives, and visions to contribute to large sectors of the Canadian economy that have traditionally lacked this type of diversity

In November 2017, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office published a report titled, “Women’s Participation in Patenting: An Analysis of PCT Applications Originating in Canada” which studies Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications filed under the PCT by Canadian applicants, and finds that Canada has seen little change in the share of inventors who are women in the last 15 years, while the world share continues to grow.

Data from Statistics Canada shows that the share of Canadian women engaged in patenting activity has been persistently lower than the share of jobs held by women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In other words, women's low participation in PCT applications is not simply a pipeline problem associated with relatively low numbers of women in those fields.

Q2 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

The desire to encourage participation by women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is frequently discussed through the lens of STEM education. CIPO’s “Women’s Participation in Patenting” report contributes to our understanding of the progress made by Canadian women in STEM fields. Increasing the share of women graduating with STEM degrees is very helpful but does not necessarily reduce the barriers faced by women already working in those fields. Our analysis has shown that Canada's share of participation by women in PCT applications cannot be explained simply by pointing to the low share of women in STEM jobs.

Q3 How can the innovation and IP ecosystems become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

If women entrepreneurs are to become greater participants in the innovation economy, it is crucial that they have fair access to the entire suite of business innovation programming and that meets their particular needs.

Q4 What types of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

We know that business growth, scale-up, innovation and global competitiveness is often inhibited by underdeveloped or non-existent IP commercialization strategies amongst businesses, generally.

Failure of SMEs to develop robust IP strategies is due to weak IP literacy amongst Canadian innovators, and their inability to access affordable and timely IP services.

CIPO has worked in collaboration and partnership to enhance its IP Awareness and Education program to increase IP literacy in Canada and ensure easier access to IP services which is crucial in assisting with the growth of Canada’s innovation ecosystem.

We have executed a comprehensive approach to engage partners to collectively address the gap within Canada’s entrepreneurial support system for neutral, credible and trusted sources of IP information and guidance for innovators and Canadian companies and for women entrepreneurs specifically.

The program offers a wide range of products and services that enables Canadian businesses in all stages of the business life cycle and in key sectors and industries across Canada to be aware of and understand IP and to make effective use of it in achieving business growth and success.

We are committed to providing better access to IP information and services. It is this type of access that will ultimately benefit female entrepreneurs and help increase their IP literacy which will enable them to make strategic decisions with regards to managing their IP.

Visit .

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Before her Osgoode appointment, she was recruited by the federal government’s Recruitment of Policy Leaders (RPL) program for the Department of Canadian Heritage and worked at the Copyright Policy Branch. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Intellectual Property Journal (IPJ) and previously was an associate at a large firm in Toronto. Her research interests in the intellectual property, technology and innovation law and policy fields are wide-ranging and she is highly sought after as a public speaker and consultant.  She is a cited authority at the Supreme Court of Canada and in various media, and is regularly called on by foreign and Canadian federal and provincial governments for advice.

Prof. Giuseppina D'Agostino

Q1 Why is it important that more women get involved in the IP system?

It is more important for women to be involved and represented in business generally, the IP system being a slice of it. More women entrepreneurs lead to more diversity from the products we will create and commercialize, to the boardrooms we will be in, governing our leading companies. Ultimately, we will have more female role models our girls and boys looking up to, sorely need.

Q2 Why is there a persistent gender gap in the innovation ecosystem? Are current efforts enough to change this situation?

The gap persists in various ecosystems, not limited to the innovation space. Generally women are the traditional caregivers and this takes up a lot of time, time away from innovation. We need to be doing much more to support women in the innovation space, starting with ensuring more women are encouraged to enter into STEM fields and stay in them. Within legal education, we embraced and conquered this challenge long ago. Now at Osgoode we actually have more women than men enrolled in the JD program who ultimately are very active in our Innovation Clinic helping start-ups, taking our IP classes and volunteering their time at our many IP Osgoode activities, including this blog.

Q3 Do you think it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding (and, therefore, be able to afford IP costs)?

I learned an interesting fact at this year’s International Women’s Day event hosted by Collins Barrow Vaughan and BDC that women are more risk averse in borrowing than men, and that when they do, they tend to borrow less than their male counterparts. This invariably translates into less risk-taking in their business ventures and funding their IP costs. The documentary film Dream, Girl (notice the punctuation!) showcasing the stories of inspiring and ambitious female entrepreneurs helps lead the way to bolster women’s confidence. I would encourage as many of you reading this to see it, no matter your gender or interest in the inventor/start-up space.

Q4 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

Inventors and entrepreneurs already face more challenges in Canada than in some other hot spots, like the Bay Area in California for instance, men and female alike. As women, however, the challenges are greater because of a convergence of factors, such as lack of role models and lack of funding from investors. Some investors stereotype and feel that women can’t run companies. This is patently false. Pardon the pun!

Q5 How can the innovation and IP ecosystems become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

I think it starts from the grassroots in encouraging more girls go into traditionally poorly-represented disciplines (ie STEM). There also need to be more men and women at the top supporting and encouraging talented women. Whether it be through venture capital, angel and other needed financial backing. Educational curricula and the media too could help by showcasing female entrepreneur role models and, albeit successful, not hearing about Elon Musk and Steve Jobs all the time.

Q6 What types of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

Places like the are particularly sensitive to supporting underrepresented groups, such as female inventors and entrepreneurs. We are currently working with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office to further support women in their exciting start- ups. At the Innovation Clinic we already assist such women by empowering them with information and know how to protect their technologies, grow their businesses and make the difference we know they can!

The post #WorldIPDay Spotlight on Prof. Giuseppina D'Agostino: Founder & Director, @IPOsgoode and #InnovationClinic appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Karima is also a and the former general counsel and chief legal officer for Research In Motion (now BlackBerry); she was involved in overseeing the development of the company's valuable IP portfolio (with over 44,000 patents) as well as managing its IP litigation.

Karima Bawa

Q1 Do you believe that it is important to have more women involved in the IP system?

There is a growing body of which suggests that increased diversity in the workforce can result in stronger performance. I believe this holds true for the IP system as well. I think women can bring a different perspective to evaluating ideas and can help better support women inventors, particularly those that are designing products that are targeted to women. I think female representation needs to be stronger in all of the different areas that contribute to IP - everything from coming up with the ideas and their expression, to protecting the ideas and their expression (through filing and enforcing IP), to leveraging IP in a commercial context.

Q2 Have you noticed a gender gap in your industry? Is the situation changing?

My own experiences as well as studies in the area point to a gender gap in the IP legal sector. There are fewer women who are patent agents, patent attorneys and IP litigators (likely because many of them do not have the technical background that is either a real or perceived prerequisite to practicing in these areas of law). For example, while there are no formal education requirements to become a patent agent in Canada obtaining a position as a patent agent trainee is almost impossible without having a science or engineering degree and because there are still fewer women who are pursuing fields like mathematics or physics or engineering there is an even smaller funnel for the number of women who can become patent agents. However, the landscape is slowly changing as more women pursue a STEM education and explore fields like biotech and clean tech. Also, women are increasingly becoming experts in other areas of IP law like copyright, trade marks, data privacy and protection (which are increasingly being recognized as valuable).

Q3 Do you think it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding (and, therefore, be able to afford IP costs)?

Recent suggests that the percentage of female founded companies that are venture-backed has not increased since 2012. These studies suggest that it is more challenging for women to secure funding from VCs because they are still predominantly represented by men who tend to pick which businesses they back largely based on “who’s running the ship.”  Also, according to these studies, because men don’t use the products that many women innovators come up with and they don’t understand the need for these products or have a passion for them. I would agree with these observations, but I would also add from that from my personal experience, it is more challenging for women to secure funding because, it is often more difficult for them to ask for help and women don’t typically have the same extensive network as men do in the financial and VC space.

Q4 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

In my opinion, one of the most significant challenges for female inventors and entrepreneurs, is the lack of female mentors who hold leadership positions.  For example, in the IP legal sector, there are still fewer women in leadership positions and therefore young women don’t have leaders and mentors that they can turn to who can support them through issues like maternity leave or how to balance work life and family life.  Also, there is still an unconscious bias on a number of levels. For example, in a law firm, it is quite often a male partner that owns the client relationship and he may unconsciously disproportionately provide opportunities for his male colleagues with whom he may feel a closer connection. In addition, as alluded to above, women tend not to have the same influential networks that they can call upon.  Also, a very real challenge which exists for women in all sectors is the fact that women are still the primary care givers in most family situations, and as such they simply can’t dedicate the same amount of time and energy for their professional endeavors because there are only so many hours in the day. As such, we need to have meaningful discussions about the structure of modern-day work, especially in time-intensive professions such as law, and what can be done about helping women who want to have a career and raise a family and actually be successful in both domains.

Q5 How can the innovation and IP ecosystem become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

The innovation and IP ecosystem can become more inclusive for women by, as a starting point, encouraging women’s interest and engagement in technical fields (for example STEM). Also, women who are in leadership positions have to take it upon themselves to mentor other young women and to encourage flexible working arrangements and the adoption of programs that support issues tending to affect women like transitions to and from maternity leave.

Men too can play a very powerful role in bringing women along. I for example, had the benefit of working with men who supported my desire to have a family and be actively involved in raising a child because they understood that I needed to be able to have flexibility to remain committed to and passionate about what I was doing in the workplace.

Q6 What type of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

I believe that women should be encouraged to network and that workplaces should find ways to facilitate this recognizing that traditional networking opportunities are sometimes more limited for women who are often already struggling to manage their familial commitments alongside their professional commitments. Also, women should be encouraged (through coaching if needed) to feel comfortable talking about themselves and their achievements and get over the fact that doing so is not boastful (if done appropriately).  VCs need to have more female representation so that women entrepreneurs and their products aren’t as easily dismissed. And finally, it is important to implement working arrangements that are flexible and that recognize that many women have competing demands, like raising their children or supporting their aging parents, that many men simply don’t.

The post #WorldIPDay Spotlight on Karima Bawa: Securing and Tracking the Exchange of Data Files with 3D Bridge Solutions appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Maya Medeiros

Q1 Do you believe that it is important to have more women involved in the IP system?

I believe that diversity (including gender diversity) in business generally is important as it provides a range of perspectives for better decision making and problem solving to increase performance. This extends to the IP system, which includes IP professionals such as lawyers and agents, as well as innovators or IP creators. IP, and particularly patents, can be looked at through a “problem and solution” lens and a diverse set of players should highlight a wider range of problems, “eureka moments”, and innovative solutions.

Q2 Have you noticed a gender gap in your industry? Is the situation changing?

There is a gender gap in the legal industry and technology industry so the intersection of these industries further widens the gap. I am lucky to be part of a diverse team at my firm but I know this is not the norm. We are starting to see more data which creates awareness so hopefully this will lead to solutions.

Q3 Do you think it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding (and, therefore, be able to afford IP costs)?

indicates that women-led ventures secure a lot less funding which suggests it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding. A business network often leads to funding opportunities (or at least introductions) and if most of the network is made up of men it is likely harder for women to establish themselves within the network.

I am involved in (with their Radical Generosity funding model) as an activator and part of a global community of women that exclusively fund women-led ventures and provide business support. and join the community.

If a female innovator is solving a problem that targets female demographic it may be harder for male investors to understand the market and the value of the solution. also shows that the investor/financial industry is also predominantly male ().

Q4 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

The challenge of securing funding discussed above is significant if the inventor or entrepreneur cannot bootstrap their venture. There is also the significant problem of unconscious bias and the unfair results it can lead to particularly in industries where females are not well represented. suggests a lack of females in leadership positions which leads to a smaller pool of female mentors. In my personal experience, female mentorship has been very important for navigating issues in the professional world (and personal world).

Q5 How can the innovation and IP ecosystems become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

Both men and women in leadership roles should take active steps to provide assistance to female entrepreneurs, such as informal strategy discussions, feedback on business plans, and mentorship generally.

Q6 What types of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

An increase in funding opportunities can address the lack of funding noted above. Mentorship and business networks targeting female entrepreneurs can also provide support for their business. Sponsorship programs can be established and linked to funding models. A sponsor may be rewarded if a female entrepreneur meets significant milestones with their support, for example. Increased flexibility in the workplace can help both women and men, particularly when they are also caregivers or have other significant family roles.

The post #WorldIPDay Spotlight on @MayajMedeiros of @NLawGlobal: @IPOsgoode #InnovationClinic Supervising Lawyer appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Charlene Lindsay

Q1 Do you believe that it is important to have more women involved in the IP system?

Yes, I think it is extremely important for woman to be involved with the IP world. , we know that there were approximately 24 female CEOs leading Fortune 500 companies such as Pepsi, IBM, General Motors, Avon, and Hewlett Packards, to name a few. By 2017, this number rose and quite significantly, if I might add. However, we still have a long way to go. By this, I mean, women are still underrepresented in almost every sector of the job force and this includes IP work as well. In the , woman with full time jobs were paid 20% less than their male counterparts. Although the pay gap has narrowed since the 1970s, wage disparities are still a cumbersome issue for women.

Q2 Have you noticed a gender gap in your industry? Is the situation changing?

Well my industry is multidimensional; in addition to the pursuit of my entrepreneurial endeavours with SDNR, mentoring Indigenous youths, getting my writing published, launching a clothing line, and Co-producing the Toronto Indigenous Fashion Week,  I am also extremely passionate about education. So, even though I have already earned several degrees, my overall goal is to finish my Ph.D, which I am currently pursuing.

In terms of the gender gap in academia, I would have to say there is definitely a gender gap between male professors who receive far more compensation in comparison to their female colleagues. I am proud to say, however, that 91ŃÇÉ« has recently shattered the glass ceiling with the recent announcement of our new President, Rhonda L. Lenton. In this regard, I would say the situation is changing, but I would also add that we still have more work to do if we want to close the gap completely.

From an entrepreneurial perspective, females have a harder time climbing the ladder as compared to men. For example, a recent U.S Senate Report, showed that only 4.4% of small business loans went to women-owned businesses. According to Bloomberg, woman in the U.S comprise of only 7% of founders who received approximately $20 million dollars or more in overall funding. The backlash to this argument suggested that if women were pitching high-quality business ideas, they would be rewarded accordingly. However, another conducted at Harvard Business School found that the same video pitch for a start-up was twice as likely to get funded by investors when narrated by a male voice than by a female one. Regrettably, these same gender gaps also exist in Canada as well. Though I would like to add that a recent conducted by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business found that the tide is slowly turning for Indigenous entrepreneurs. So, I am extremely hopeful and I look forward to nurturing and fostering this positive new growth in any way I can.

Q3 Do you think it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding (and, therefore, be able to afford IP costs)?

I think the pursuit of entrepreneurship is a difficult road to navigae and only the strong survive. shows that more than 50% of new businesses fold within three years after launching. More often than not, it is because many new entrepreneurs are unable to secure funding or afford the costs of protecting their ideas. If I could go back and start my entrepreneurship mission over again, the one thing I would like to share with other female entrepreneurs is: "Please protect your ideas and share on a need to know basis only."

I was fortunate to have a rich network of colleagues, peers, and other professionals within 91ŃÇÉ« that I consider family. I, therefore, had a large professional network of people to turn to when I encountered difficulties with my new business, particularly where IP costs were concerned. Unfortunately, not all female entrepreneurs have this kind of support, particularly Indigenous women. For this reason, our team is in the process of creating and adding a specialized mentoring sector to our organization. Once we have this launched and underway, we plan to expand these services to those living in isolated Indigenous reserves where the costs associated with IP and other entrepreneurial endeavours are harder to access.

Even though the government of Canada has recently decided to pour more money into entrepreneurship endeavours, there are still many obstacles to overcome in terms of securing funding, and this is especially true for female innovators from every racial background.

Q4 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

Indeed there are many challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face. Despite the fact that entrepreneurship has shifted and become more inclusive of the female voice; according to a recent study conducted by the , females face unique challenges in terms of cultivating success and getting their businesses to the next level. The seven steps include, but are not necessarily limited to:

1) Defying Social Expectations,
2)Limited Access to Funding,
3)Having to navigate a male lead industry,
4) Owning Their Accomplishments,
5)Building a Support Network,
6) Balancing Business and Family Life; and
7) Coping with Fear of Failure.

Q5 How can the innovation and IP ecosystems become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

Women are rising and overcoming obstacles they once faced in the employment sector, and this includes the world of IP and entrepreneurship. According to of the CPA Global IP Platform, women are also producing ground breaking inventions and taking leadership of multimillion dollar technology companies to heightened levels. For example, a recent found that 29% of the international patent applications filed in 2015 included at least one female inventor, compared with just 17% in 1995. This is exciting news because it means that women are filing more patents and building more innovative ideas than ever before. And they are going the extra mile to protect their activity.

I feel like the world of innovation and IP ecosystems can do more to be more inclusive of under-represented groups. For one, I think government bodies, stakeholders, and academia have a role to play in this regard. And by addressing the above-noted seven steps, as per the National Association of Women Business Owners, I think a lot more can be accomplished. 91ŃÇÉ« has recently taken the lead in this regard and I am extremely proud of the launching of the new platform and the which I myself am a proud graduate of. With rich networks like these based inside great academic institutions like 91ŃÇÉ«, the sky is the limit, even for female and underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Q6 What types of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

As noted in the conducted by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, I think there are a variety of challenges that entrepreneurs face, and this also includes Indigenous lead innovators. , founder of and Dell’s former entrepreneur-in-residence, has found that the number one reason female entrepreneurs fail is their lack of confidence and not having access to mentors. I would have to disagree with her on this one, only because I myself struggled with getting my business off the ground and it had nothing to do with my lacking of confidence or accessing mentors. The difficulties I encountered were two-fold, first I had grave difficulty accessing funding. And the second was gaining the trust of Indigenous peoples who live in remote areas, as well as overcoming difficulties associated with covetousness. One would think that Indigenous women can turn to their own for support, but the fact of the matter is, that simply is not true.

Overall, I think female entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed if they have access to a professional network of well-educated people who have their best interest at heart. In addition, I also feel that women are more likely to succeed with their business ventures if they are provided with more access to financial support systems. Even if their business is a not-for-profit.

The post #WorldIPDay Spotlight on Charlene Lindsay: Building Bridges and Indigenous Engagement through @SDNRCG appeared first on IPOsgoode.

                            

Lara Hammoud

Q1 Do you believe that it is important to have more women involved in the IP system?

It is important that every citizen gets the chance to contribute to the economy in one way or another. Diversity of opinion and thought is the cradle of creativity and innovation. The gender, race or age of the contributor is insignificant as long as their contribution furthers our goal to make a positive difference in each other’s lives. This especially applies to the IP system as the shield and the protector of innovation. People from different backgrounds and experiences and of different gender see the world through different lenses. With that diversity and a dose of female sense of compassion and responsibility, women’s participation in the IP system will certainly boost innovation and ensure a proper intellectual property protection.

Q2 Have you noticed a gender gap in your industry? Is the situation changing?

In my brief experience in the finance and legal world, as well as my current experience as an entrepreneur, the gender gap is definitely evident in some industries more than in others. However, I would definitely say that the tide is turning. At the Western Accelerator that I am currently a part of, female entrepreneurs are by far not a minority. As a matter of a fact, out of the group of eight start-ups, only three are led by men.

Q3 Do you think it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding (and, therefore, be able to afford IP costs)?

Based on reports and stats, it is obvious that female-led start-ups are funded less. Now, the reasons for that may be various (e.g., not enough women venturing into the entrepreneurial route). However, there are many emerging initiatives that are addressing this specific concern. We are witnessing more and more venture capital firms, collaboration spaces, incubators and accelerators that either fully focus on female-led start-ups or make an effort to recruit more female entrepreneurs.

Q4 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

In my opinion, female entrepreneurs have the same opportunities as their male counterparts with respect to resources such as training, mentorships and sometimes funding. The challenges that women most often face are building their credibility and being taken seriously. In some industries, women have to prove themselves worthy to get that funding or to close that deal. In this sense, entrepreneurship is not any different than any other male dominant field.

Q5 How can the innovation and IP ecosystems become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

Any change starts with a change in perceptions and values (i.e. culture). To make innovation and IP ecosystems more inclusive, the industry and the society should undergo a shift towards an impartial and more inclusive culture. The culture will then trickle into action and common practice. This is when we will drop the word “female” when we address a woman who is an entrepreneur, and the word entrepreneur will stand for both female and male entrepreneurs.

Q6 What types of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

I believe that the best assistance an entrepreneur would benefit from is mentorship. Strong mentors can drag entrepreneurs out from their down-moments and help them reach their highs. As mentioned earlier, female entrepreneurs need to be resilient and must learn how to prove themselves worthy. And with a strong and trustworthy mentor – the sky is truly the limit.

The post #WorldIPDay Spotlight on Lara Hammoud: Improving Access to Justice with @LawyerlyCanada appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Roya Mahboob

As President and board member of the Digital Citizen Fund, Roya aims to increase women’s technological literacy and provide employment and educational opportunities for girls and children in developing countries like Afghanistan. The Digital Citizen Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in New 91ŃÇÉ« City. The Digital Citizen Fund helps girls and women in developing countries gain access to technology, virtually connect with others across the world, and obtain necessary skills to succeed in today’s expanding global market.

Roya was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013 for her work in building internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan. The TIME 100 essay was written by Facebook COO and author of "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead", Sheryl Sandberg.  Roya is also a member of the 2014 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards, Civic Innovators, The Advancement of Gender Equality through Education Award and Young Leader of World Economic Form in 2015.  She also sits on the Advisory Board of the Forbes School of Business of Ashford University, Resolution Project, and the Global Thinkers Forum organization.

Q1 Do you believe that it is important to have more women involved in the IP system?

I believe if more women get involved with IP systems then there would be more diversity and innovation in the new technologies. It’s absolutely a key factor for growing an innovation and business, and having a better product.

Q2 Have you noticed a gender gap in engineering/robotics? Is the situation changing?

There have been efforts to increase the number of the women in STEM-related disciplines through different initiatives, though the progress is still slow and this industry is very male-dominated. But there is hope in closing this gender gap in the future with the help of governments, accessible education, non-profit organizations and the tech industry.  

Q3 Do you think it is more difficult for female innovators and entrepreneurs to secure funding (and, therefore, be able to afford IP costs)?

It’s very difficult for any start-up to raise money or have access to capital but unfortunately it is even more challenging for women compared to men to get funding in their early stage or to afford the IP costs for their innovation on top of many other hurdles and challenges that women would face when they run their companies.

Q4 Are there unique challenges that female inventors and entrepreneurs face?

Lack of education and training, lack of access to finance, accessing to the market, networking, gender discrimination, negative and inadequate resources.

Q5 How can the innovation and IP ecosystems become more inclusive for under-represented groups, such as female entrepreneurs?

By helping female entrepreneurs protect their innovation and making the process easier and at a lower cost will help build a diverse start-up ecosystem. By empowering a female entrepreneur to feel secure about her innovation thus making easier for her to connect with venture capitalists.

Q6 What types of assistance will benefit female entrepreneurs?

Helping female entrepreneurs to have access to venture capital, networking, media coverage or providing them with mentorship would be a huge help to growing their business and lifting the new innovation to support society and the community.

The post #WorldIPDay Spotlight on Roya Mahboob: Empowering and Educating Girls and Women in Developing Countries through the @DigitalCitizenF appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Encouraging and empowering female entrepreneurs to succeed in the IP system is paramount.    by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) finds that the number of Canadian inventors filing via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is growing at a rate higher than Canadian men (from 1997 to 2015, the number of Canadian women named on PCT applications grew by 377%, compared to 285% for Canadian men). However, Canadian female inventors only made up 12% of Canadian PCT applications, a number that is persistently lower than the number of Canadian women working in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Internationally, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that gender parity in the PCT system will not be achieved until 2076.  This year’s World IP Day theme is an ideal opportunity to examine why this disconnect exists and how to overcome it.

The IP Osgoode Q&A series also features Innovation Clinic founder & director, and legal supervisor, , a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP , who will offer their insights on how the IP system can support innovative and creative women in their quest to bring their amazing ideas to market.

We hope you enjoy and check back soon!

The post IP Osgoode Celebrates #WorldIPDay with a Q&A Series Featuring Women Entrepreneurs from the Innovation Clinic appeared first on IPOsgoode.