ChIPs celebrates International Women’s Day with opportunities to accelerate progress all year long

In 2005, seven women chiefs in IP came together to form a nonprofit professional organization so that no woman would be left behind and that no woman would have to struggle to advance in their career on their own or be the only woman leading in her organization. ChIPs is what it is today because of them and the women who have carried this vision forward. 

Today, the 6,500 members from across ChIPs’ 31 chapters across the globe are a testament to the power of coming together to invest in women. The ChIPs community goes far beyond who you see on stage at Global Summit. Many of the women who are leading got to where they are with the support of male allies and male sponsors including those who were featured in our first male allies panel last October. We understand that to accelerate the progress of women in IP, like in every space and field, we must have allies willing to invest and stand alongside women.

Today, the greater ChIPs community invests in women to accelerate progress through opportunities like the General Counsel Bootcamp. Through mentorship, sponsorship, coaching, recruiting, and monthly programming, a community of general leaders showed up to invest in the women who are doing the work to advance in their careers. From our first cohort, eight of the 17 women moved up to new positions within 2 years.  Learn more about our General Counsel Boot Camp.

Our Mock Program is another opportunity to invest in women that accelerate progress for their communities. Through the space to practice their oral argument skills and gain valuable mentorship from judges and experts in IP, women in our Mock Program gain experience that prepares junior associates to advance their careers. Learn more here.

“You might believe you have one path to success. I believe you have many. I find the opportunities you didn’t know you had and help you find and connect to your tribe so you can go far together.”
Investing in women to accelerate progress means we don’t go alone. Mona Sabet sets the standard for going far together. Mona is a business strategist with a track record of building technology businesses from start to exit.
She is the Chief Corporate Development and Administration Officer at VulcanForms Inc. Mona has developed a legacy of creating spaces where women advance and thrive. She has grown four women’s communities and served on advisory boards of multiple nonprofits focused on women in business and women in technology including as a co-founder of ChIPs, and founder of Leading Women in Technology and the HiPower program. She’ll be speaking at SXSW next week on “Navigating the Choppy Waters of Startup Growth.”
“Don’t be so grateful for your job that you forget others should be grateful for your skills.”
Delida Costin, Board Director, Tech Executive, and Digital Media Veteran, shared key insights on building a great team and advancing in one’s career at our last General Counsel Bootcamp training. The question of work life balance came up. Costin frames it in terms of priorities. “Your job is not responsible for giving you balance,” she said. Costin said that if we are looking for someone else to offer that to us we won’t find it at work.
Part of building a great team is being a great leader and being clear on your priorities. When we can be clear on the value and what we have to offer, we will be able to more fully show up and step into our power.

Mindy Morton, Mock Program Co-Chair, Shares Wisdom on Investment and Allyship

Mindy Morton, Partner at Procopio and Co-Chair of our Mock Program, discusses what investing in women looks like and how you can be an ally to a woman in your field today.

We’re just getting started. Keep watching this space for more ways ChIPs members are Investing in Women to Accelerate Progress.