Social
The social pillar reflects our organisation’s internal professional community and broader societal impact. Our people are at the heart of our success. Their pride and sense of responsibility drive our strategic goals and have shaped the EPO into what it is today. We are also dedicated to fostering innovation and economic growth through initiatives that nurture future generations of innovators and decision makers, ensuring our work positively impacts society.
Our people
For several years, the EPO has embarked on a journey to increase diversity, ensure inclusion, and make both part of our staff’s daily experience, thereby contributing to UN SDG 5 (gender equality) and UN SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). The ultimate goal of the Office is to naturally embed diversity and inclusion in our DNA and make it part of all our activities. This is fundamental to ensuring that our staff feel welcome at all times and consider the Office a safe working environment. Diversity and inclusion will remain pervasive to our approach to harnessing the full potential of Europe’s diverse talent.
Diversity in numbers 2023
6300
employees across all sites
72
nationalities (including 2nd and 3rd)
28%
female managers
39
member states
42
different mother tongues
35%
female staff members
Partnerships and certifications
Partner for building awareness
Partner to provide leading patent intelligence
Partner for a better understanding of the future of innovation
Societal impact
We support innovation and economic growth not only by granting patents, but also by providing current and future inventors, innovators and decision makers with the support they need.
Through studies and reports, public access to state-of-the-art patent data and offering valuable insights into innovation and technology, we aim to bring patent knowledge closer to everyone's fingertips, spark new ideas for a more sustainable world and drive progressive change, thereby contributing to UN SDG 4 (quality education), UN SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), UN SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), UN SDG 10 (reduced inequalities) and UN SDG 13 (climate action), among others.
The EPO’s technology platforms are devoted to inventions relating to areas of technologies where innovation is most urgent for a sustainable future, including combatting cancer, firefighting, space, and water. The platforms are designed help scientists and engineers navigate more easily our wealth of free patent information.
Inspiring stories
Meet the inventors behind some groundbreaking technologies supporting diversity and inclusion, shedding light on the importance of creating accessible, welcoming spaces for everyone, regardless of physical abilities.