Putting yourself first
Women’s careers shouldn’t be always linked to their personal life, Kathy Wright from Astellas Pharma Europe shares her thoughts for International Women’s Day.
Kathy became a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney in 2014.
“I was already doing the work as a part-qualified attorney, I just took the next step”.
Once Kathy accomplished the challenge of showing her company the need for a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney she went on to become their in-house counsel.
“I love seeing how a product begins its life as a number and then evolves into a potential lifesaving-item that makes its way to the marketplace – helping patients live more advantageously.”
The trade mark profession is well-known for being gender diverse. In fact, inside CITMA, over half of the members are female. But despite the numbers, Kathy shared that women still face challenges.
Kathy shared that one of the biggest challenge’s women face is the perception that women cannot work and raise a family.
A survey on women in the workplace reported that 44% of those surveyed felt their work-life balance was the toughest challenge in the workplace.
“Are they loving? Do they have a heart? They’re too emotional or not emotional enough… If they’re not a wife or mother, then ‘something must be wrong with them’ There seems to be a perception that a woman’s ability at work must be qualified by their maternal or marital status.
“Sometimes women are judged before they even open their mouth.”
Today, it is important for women to think about themselves. Kathy’s advice is “think about what you want - not necessarily what others may want for you. Life can be your career, marriage, motherhood, homemaking, or a combination of them all”.
It’s important not only for women to encourage each other but for men to as well. Kathy believes that “we should all lift each other up – male or female”.
Michelle Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey and her mum and sister (pictured above) are all people that inspire Kathy to be the best version of herself.
If you are looking to support women in the workplace, visit the Women in IP website. Women in IP Community provides support and networking that focusses on issues that can predominantly affect women working in the IP professions.
Author
-
Kathy Wright
Director of IP (Trade Marks, Copyright, Domain Names) & Trade Mark Counsel, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.