A culture of growth and equality

As the pinnacle of gender equality, Iceland paints a pretty picture. The Nordic nation has been the frontrunner in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, which benchmarks countries according to how close they are to reaching gender equality, for 11 consecutive years.

This hasn’t just happened in Iceland. In October 1975, International Women’s Year, Iceland’s women refused to show up for work, to look after children, cook or clean. It was a defining moment in the gender equality struggle.

Every year, to mark the strike, women leave their workplaces and homes and gather in the capital Reykjavik’s central square demanding further change.

Five years after the first strike, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became Iceland’s president, becoming one of the first women in the world to be democratically elected as a head of state, and Europe’s first female president. She held the position for 16 years.

Continuing the trend of women holding influential positions in Iceland is Borghildur Erlingsdóttir, director general of the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office (ISIPO).

“You could say that I have benefited from a culture of equality here in Iceland, where barriers are perhaps not as high as they are in other countries.

“There certainly is a mentality here that a woman should not be forced to choose between family on one hand and education and a career on the other,” says Erlingsdóttir.

She adds that when she took over as director general, there were still people in the IP community who thought it was curious that a woman with four children could take on a position as demanding as this one, but Iceland’s history, legal framework and culture make this possible.

In 2018, the country’s Equal Pay Certification law took effect, making Iceland the first country in the world to require companies to prove they pay all their employees equally, no matter what their gender, sexuality, or ethnicity.

“Efforts to increase parental leave have marked further steps towards gender equality,” says Erlingsdóttir.

That’s not to say that Iceland is a gender-equal paradise. While the gender pay gap has closed by 88%, the gap still exists (although it’s better than a global gender parity of 68.6%). On the world stage, none of us will see gender parity in our lifetime—the World Economic Forum’s index reveals that gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years.

Erlingsdóttir adds: “I am proud of the progress we have made, but I see that there is advancement still to be made. We can always do more to bridge the gap, and we will.”

A fundamental human right

It’s no secret that the IP community has traditionally been male-dominated, says Erlingsdóttir.

But there are signs that things are changing—she cites the increase in the number of female director generals of national IP offices, as well as some higher management positions in the international IP organisations.

"Increasing diversity and gender equality will equip us better to find innovative solutions to overcome the challenges we are facing in a fast-changing IP world."

There are positive signs in the innovation industry, with “a new generation of female innovators coming through with some potentially world-changing solutions”, she says, adding that high-profile Icelandic companies are taking measures to increase the number of women in the boardroom.

”Things could, and should, be moving faster,” she says. “Gender equality is a fundamental human right and it goes without saying that we should all be doing more to address this issue.

“It goes beyond the basic issue of fairness and whether a person in power is a man or a woman. Gender equality is also about getting the best results. It’s simply good business,” she concludes.

Numerous studies espouse the benefits of greater diversity and gender equality for business innovation and increased profitability in the private sector. For Erlingsdóttir, there’s no reason to think that the same shouldn’t apply to how national and international IP offices work and do business.

“Increasing diversity and gender equality will equip us better to find innovative solutions to overcome the challenges we are facing in a fast-changing IP world. These efforts just make sense, we cannot afford to ignore that,” she says.

The ISIPO has always considered gender balance when it comes to speakers at conferences and seminars to make sure that a diverse set of voices are heard on IP issues.

“When it comes to our staff, the ISIPO has generally had more female employees so we have sometimes had to think of ways to increase the gender balance from the other side and hire more men. I believe that diversity, in terms of both gender and age, is simply good business,” she says.

She adds that there are many issues today that require innovative solutions, and that these will not be found in a homogenous workplace.

This rings true for those working in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“Encouraging women to take on traditionally male-dominated fields is necessary to break the barriers that remain,” says Erlingsdóttir, adding that more women are entering into science and research and development, particularly in the geothermal energy sector in Iceland.

Ensuring women’s voices are heard in innovation and creativity is absolutely vital.

To quote the words of one of Iceland’s most innovative and creative women, Hildur Guðnadóttir, who became the first woman to win an Oscar (for best original score in the film “Joker”): “To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters, who hear the music bubbling within, please speak up. We need to hear your voices.”

Erlingsdóttir believes this quotation should resonate with all girls and women, whether in art or technology.

The journey

Erlingsdóttir’s own journey didn’t begin in IP—she started out studying architecture but soon her interest gravitated toward law, in particular IP law which fascinated her right away.

“I knew exactly which side of the table I wanted to be on. I wanted to be involved in the fast-changing world of IP and affect it on a policy level,” she says.

“There were opportunities in the private and public sectors but I knew where my journey would lead.”

When a job opened at the Icelandic Patent Office (as it was then known), Erlingsdóttir was determined. “There were a lot of applications, but I showed up with my thesis thinking to myself: ‘I will get this job.’ And I did.”

Erlingsdóttir took a year off to study an LLM in law, science and technology at Stanford University and, when she was returning to Iceland, the position of director general was available.

“I am always open to new challenges and ways to make my, and Iceland’s, voice heard in IP matters. As director general I have always put a lot of emphasis on international cooperation,” she says.

In addition to serving as the vice-chair of the European Patent Office’s administrative council, Erlingsdóttir is the chairman of the board of the Nordic Patent Institute.

Fundamental questions

Erlingsdóttir sees massive opportunities for ISIPO at a time when Iceland’s economy is at a turning point, drawing on its old industries to drive innovation.

“Traditionally, the Icelandic economy was almost entirely dependent on natural resources, but we are starting to see the massive potential for sustainable growth through innovation and IP,” she says.

The transformation of the country’s fisheries sector into an IP industry is a perfect example. Alongside creating innovative solutions to create more value from each fish caught, the sector has created a side industry in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and biotech, which creates value from what was previously considered waste. The IP industries and sustainability are growing hand-in-hand, says Erlingsdóttir.

She is aware of the challenges facing the ISIPO, challenges that mirror those facing larger IP offices as well.

Rapid technological and sociological changes such as those currently seen are posing some fundamental questions about the nature of IP and IP ownership, she explains.

At the same time, these changes are affecting the way IP offices examine, provide services and communicate. Although the developments provide tools to increase efficiency in examination, increased demands and customer needs mean IP offices need to change their approach.

“We need to be faster. We need to keep the process simple. We need to keep up and continuously improve quality. We need to provide services that are in line with the needs of innovators today. We also need to find new ways to reach and engage with our stakeholders.

“We cannot just sit and wait for companies to come to us. We need to be proactive and maintain a close connection to our stakeholders to help them protect their IP,” warns Erlingsdóttir.

These are exciting challenges for all IP offices, national and international, and very interesting times for the IP community, she says.

In some ways, IP offices are being forced to rethink their roles. Erlingsdóttir adds that we must all consider the whole innovation process and how it creates value for companies and society.

After all, the reason IP offices do what they do is to help companies create value for society, she explains, adding: “We need to see ourselves as an important chain in the innovation link.”