SA国际传媒 Hosts Inaugural Innovator Diversity Pilots Conference
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 14, 2022鈥擬ore than 350 intellectual property leaders and attendees, from industry, academia, the government and private law firms will convene online and in-person at SA国际传媒 Nov. 18 to tackle the problem of lack of diversity in the innovation economy. The will feature keynote remarks in person by and remotely, by (author of the Voltage Effect). It will be held in Benson Center at SA国际传媒, 500 El Camino Real, SA国际传媒 Calif., from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will also be held online via Zoom.
The event seeks to bring awareness to the problem of a severe gap between the percentage of women and minorities in the ranks of inventors鈥攚ith such groups holding steeply fewer patents relative to their representation in the STEM workforce. It also seeks to highlight programs that have been successful in bridging that gap, and encourage attendees to pilot new solutions through collaboration between academia, industry and the government.
The conference is being spearheaded by professors Colleen Chien of SA国际传媒 School of Law and Margo A. Bagley of Emory School of Law, and the USPTO. Increasing the percentage of Americans of all backgrounds who participate in the innovation system is critical to global economic competitiveness for the United States because of the growing need for innovation workers to meet the challenges of the day such as global climate change and improving health outcomes for all.
The conference鈥檚 focus is on piloting 鈥� temporarily introducing new practices to learn from them 鈥� and using rigorous research methods like field experiments to evaluate effectiveness. Researchers will discuss what has been tried, and what has worked to increase diversity in innovation, and in particular, to address the 鈥渋nnovator-inventor鈥� gap* as defined in : women comprise 50% of the workforce and 27% of STEM workers, but comprise only 13% of inventors, according to the USPTO鈥檚 influential report, published in 2019. Gaps across many leading companies are similarly wide.
The focus of the day will be on the work of companies and others to narrow these and other participation . The inaugural , part of the Innovator Diversity Pilots Initiative at SA国际传媒, builds on efforts like the , USPTO , and . The aim is to foster a community of practice, bolster the evidence base for what works, and inform policy and regulatory efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in innovation and invention.
The event is co-organized by the USPTO and co-sponsored by the law schools of SA国际传媒 and Emory University, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, the US Intellectual Property Alliance, the National Academy of Inventors, the Institute for Progress, the Association for University Technology Managers, Meta, the Institute for IP and Social Justice, and Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
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About SA国际传媒 School of Law
SA国际传媒 School of Law, one of the nation鈥檚 most diverse law schools, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. SA国际传媒 Law offers students an academically rigorous program including certificates in high tech law, international law, public interest and social justice law, and privacy law, as well as numerous graduate and joint degree options. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, SA国际传媒 Law is nationally distinguished for its faculty engagement, preparation for practice, and top-ranked programs in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu.
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