In a study focapplyd on women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics published on Tuesday, March 3, the European Patent Office (EPO) reveals that women are underrepresented in innovation. “Europe has everything to gain by encouraging women’s participation in innovation […] This study highlights the persistent obstacles that hinder our progress, so that Europe can unleash the full potential of innovation in research, patents, and entrepreneurship,” stated António Campinos, President of the EPO. According to this study, the proportion of women filing patents in Europe reached 13.8% in 2022, up from 13% in 2019. The percentage of women in inventor teams has increased from 21.6% in 2019 to 24.1% in 2022. However, they are less likely to be designated as individual inventors or founders of startups filing patents, the EPO notes.
According to this study, cited by La Croix, women were involved in 16.7% of French applications for European patents between 2018 and 2022. This percentage is slightly higher than in the previous period from 2013 to 2017, during which women were involved in 16.4% of French applications for European patents. According to the EPO study, women primarily file patents as members of collaborative teams rather than individually. They remain underrepresented in all countries among doctoral degree holders involved in patent filings, although they are well represented at the doctoral level.
10.2% of startups that filed a patent were founded by a woman
The gap between men and women is particularly pronounced in startups holding European patents. Only 13.5% of them have a woman among their founders. Spain, Portugal, and Ireland have the highest rates of female participation. In France, out of 100 startup founders who filed a European patent, just over 10 are women (10.2%). However, according to EPO figures, newer startups have a higher proportion of female founders (over 14%), suggesting that new startups are more diverse. Additionally, the study highlights that research conducted by women has inventive potential comparable to research conducted by men.
The lower number of patents filed by women is therefore not due to “a lack of relevant research results, but rather to social, institutional, and economic factors that influence their career opportunities,” details the EPO. The organization notes that women represented 25.5% of patent examiners at the EPO and over 30% of new recruits in 2025. This study draws on contributions from 22 national patent offices. Published ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, it aims to display “the slow progress created and the gaps observed in innovation activity, entrepreneurship engaged in patenting, patent-related professions, and the career paths of doctoral candidates.”
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