Minding the Gender Gap – Empowering Women in the Field of Intellectual Property

Recently, the European Patent Office (EUIPO) published an article written by Eleonora Rosati, emphasizing the importance of paying more attention to women's participation in the field of intellectual property. Yezhima has translated this article into Chinese for your convenience.

Minding the Gender Gap – Empowering Women in the Field of Intellectual Property

Equality between women and men is one of the fundamental values of the European Union (EU) and its Member States. In line with these principles, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits any form of discrimination, including on the basis of sex. This legislation also recognizes the protection of intellectual property rights as a fundamental right. So, what is the current status and role of women in the field of intellectual property rights? Does intellectual property rights contribute to the achievement of an equal and more inclusive society?

Famous women in IP

Throughout history, women have made very important contributions to the development of science, technology, culture and design. In doing so, they have also improved our lives and freed up time for other things. Here are just a few examples in the field of science: Katalin Karikó, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, laid the scientific foundation for mRNA vaccines, and Claude Grison developed a method to purify contaminated soil by extracting metal elements from plants. In the field of technology, Lillian Gilbreth invented the pedal trash can and electric food mixer out of consideration for improving the efficiency of family cooking; 19-year-old Mary Phelps Jacob invented the bra that women around the world still use today. In the field of industrial design, Maria Benzkton, who won the DEA Lifetime Achievement Award, is considered a pioneer in inclusive design that considers human factors, pursues independence, and serves the people.

Women have also played a key role in shaping IP law, whether as judges, examiners at IP offices such as the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), policymakers and legislators, academics and commentators on IP issues, and practitioners working in law firms and in-house. Despite this, it remains challenging for women creating IP and those working in this field.

Challenges of being a woman producing and working in IP

A recent study on women designing published by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) highlighted not only the persistent gender gap in the EU design community, with only 24% of designers identified as women, but also the pay gap between men and women, with women earning 12.8% less on average than men. This disparity is also evident in EU design applications registered with the EUIPO, with only 21% of designs featuring at least one female designer in the same year. From a global perspective, statistics published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) highlight that women designers accounted for approximately 21% of listed designers in 2022 industrial design applications worldwide in the WIPO Global Design Database. While this figure has doubled since 2001, WIPO estimates that at current rates, gender equality will not be achieved until 2099.

A similar picture is found in the patent world. A 2022 study by the European Patent Office showed that, although this is an improvement compared to the past, less than one in seven inventors in Europe were women in 2022. From a global perspective, a 2023 WIPO study noted that only about 13% of inventors listed in international patent applications were women.

Women working in the IP industry also face challenges. While regular rankings rightly celebrate women in IP and their successes, the figures show that substantial progress still needs to be made. For example, a 2017 study conducted at the request of the European Parliament concluded that full and equal participation of women with men in the legal field remains elusive, as can also be seen in the disparity in the number of women between entry-level positions and senior positions in any sector of the legal profession, including law firms and the judiciary.

What can we do?

The EUIPO has been promoting various initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and supporting women, for example, the EUIPO has participated in the Girls Go Circular initiative (targeting teenage girls to promote the importance of sustainability and circular economy principles) and organized IP training in the context of the 2023 Women and Girls in STEM Forum, aimed at inspiring and supporting future generations of female innovators. The upcoming 2030 Strategic Plan is also expected to include initiatives aimed at promoting female representation and leadership in the field of IP.

From a broader perspective, an increased focus on diversity and inclusion, including in the IP system, can ensure that underrepresented groups can contribute and benefit. Without fully leveraging the contributions of half the world’s population, the world economy will miss out on a vast swath of ideas, creativity and innovation that are essential to driving growth.

In summary, full achievement of gender equality requires serious interventions at multiple levels, education, awareness and elimination of social biases. For example, empowerment in the form of recruitment and promotion of staff, initiatives and culture that enable people to reconcile professional and personal responsibilities, mentoring and assistance, and especially the visibility of female role models who inspire the younger generation are all necessary factors for meaningful and successful progress. For women to become protagonists of the world, including in intellectual property, we all need to make a difference – at home, in school, in the workplace and in the wider society. Indeed, in order to create, design, invent and achieve professional success, a woman will always need – first and foremost – Virginia Woolf’s famous room of her own.