The USPTO hosts a variety of community groups, commonly known as employee resource groups (ERGs) or affinity groups. These groups connect employees with shared backgrounds, characteristics, interests, or goals and offer them opportunities for networking, professional development, outreach, and mentorship. To help you establish affinity groups in your company, the USPTO provides several useful resources.
Toolkit
Our affinity group toolkit has information to help you establish and maintain your own affinity groups. Resources include templates for a charter and bylaws.
Download affinity group toolkit
National affinity groups
In addition to developing unique community groups at your company, you can also host chapters of established national affinity groups. The USPTO hosts chapters of:
- Blacks in Government (BIG)
- Federally Employed Women (FEW)
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- Network of Executive Women (NEW)
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
More information on USPTO affinity groups
In celebration of the diversity at the USPTO, we’ve produced a series of videos featuring many of our affinity group members, the work they do, and the communities they represent.