Create your own World IP Day campaign

World Intellectual Property Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the power of innovation and creativity and to explore how intellectual property (IP) supports our drive to build a better future. In 2023, the theme for World Intellectual Property Day is
Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity.

If you want to get involved and are looking for inspiration, check out the suggested activities, resources, and promotional materials on this page.

Join us in celebrating the work of trailblazing women around the world and in raising awareness about why it is so important to encourage more women to participate in the IP system. Current data show that, despite modest increases, too few women are using the IP system. The current gender gap in IP means that we are all missing out. We all benefit when women engage in innovation and creativity. Today, we face unprecedented challenges. With more diverse and inclusive ecosystems for innovation and creativity, we improve our collective capability to transition to a more sustainable future.

This year’s World Intellectual Property Day campaign is an opportunity to:

celebrate the amazing achievements of women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs around the world, and
to redouble efforts to promote inclusion and diversity in all areas of our work, to ensure the development of innovation ecosystems that are accessible to all genders.

Guidance notes

Additional pointers to help you create your own World Intellectual Property Day campaign.

Suggested activities for your World IP Day campaign

We invite you to use the materials available to develop your own, customized World Intellectual Property Day campaign in line with your own public awareness goals, to maximize impact among your target audiences.

Diversity and inclusion at your workplace

Find out how your company/organization is addressing diversity and inclusion in your workplace. Work with HR to set up lunch clubs, coffee meetings or informal group discussions in your work space. Liven up the discussion by inviting women inventors and creators from within or outside your company/organization to share their experiences.

Get students talking about women and IP

If you’re working in a school or at a university, why not develop one or a series of interactive workshops, conferences, fairs, or exhibitions (virtual and/or in-person) on this year’s theme. Create an opportunity for young people to learn about inspiring female role models and celebrate the work of trailblazing women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs at home and beyond.

Start a mentoring program

Create a space where aspiring women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs can meet with experienced mentors on IP and business. Join forces with a local partner (e.g. law firm, chamber of commerce or women’s association) and organize a free IP and business consultation or mentoring session for women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs who want to learn more about how they can benefit from the IP system.

Give voice to local women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs

In collaboration with local women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs, get in touch with your national or local radio stations, online radios, and podcast programs and give a voice to the trailblazing women near you and create an opportunity for them to share how IP is supporting their innovation journey.

Organize a World Intellectual Property Day event

Help build awareness and understanding of IP and how it can support the ambitions and goals of women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs. Organize and host an event – a webinar, conference, workshop, roundtable discussion, competition, exhibition, and more. Bring together inspiring speakers and stimulate lively discussions on why it’s important to increase the participation of women in the IP system.

Talk about #WorldIPDay on social media

Talk about World Intellectual Property Day with your friends and colleagues on social media platforms. Be sure to use #WorldIPDay and mention WIPO (@wipo on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter) when promoting your event.

Other suggested activities

Key messages

1. Commitment: WIPO is committed to bridging the gender gaps in innovation, creativity and IP.
2. We all gain: Connecting women with the IP system to accelerate innovation, creativity and business growth, is an imperative.

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If we don’t use the talent of men and women equally, we are collectively missing out on a vast pool of ingenuity and creativity, which if tapped, could boost business growth, economic performance and enable us to better respond to the global challenges we face.
3. Progress is slow: While some progress has been made, too few women are participating in the IP system.
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Data on women’s participation in all aspects of the IP system remains patchy, but the latest data on the use of the international patent system show that:
- According to data released in March 2023, it is estimated that women invented just 16.2 percent of the technologies for which patent applications were filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty in 2022 up from 14.4 percent in 2018.
- At current rates, gender parity in the use of the PCT will only be achieved in 2064.
4. Measuring progress: More data on women’s participation in other areas of IP, e.g. trademarks, designs and copyright, are required to enable a better understanding of the scope of the innovation and gender gap

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and to enable the development of effective policies and practices to achieve gender parity.
5. Barriers to women’s participation in innovation and IP: Women face many challenges, which prevent many of them from realizing their full innovative and creative potential.
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Barriers to women’s participation in the innovation and IP ecosystem include, for example:
- Lack of access to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education and training opportunities;
- Unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities, which continue to fall disproportionately on women;
- Stereotyping, discrimination and biases in the workplace as well as bias in policy and practice;
- Lack of formal training opportunities in innovation and IP
- Lack of mentoring opportunities on IP and business
6. An opportunity to move the dial: World Intellectual Property Day 2023 is an opportunity to celebrate the work of talented women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs around the world
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and for:
- Aspiring women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs to find out how IP rights can support their business goals.
- Like-minded change makers in government, business and academia, to collaborate in promoting diversity and inclusion within innovation and IP ecosystems by sharing data, best practices, and more. By working together, we can achieve gender equality in IP more quickly.
- Each of us to identify one way we can help promote gender equality and inclusion. For example, by:
  
  introducing girls to STEAM,
  
  advocating new policies and practices that will support women’s participation in the IP and innovation ecosystem,
  
  working with colleagues to promote diversity and inclusion practices in your workplace, or by
  
  building alliances and coalitions to launch awareness-raising initiatives on the importance of working towards gender parity to accelerate innovation and creativity for the benefit of all.

Social Media Kit

Download campaign materials in 8 languages from our social media kit, including visuals, social media banners, cards, and more.