Female inventors are on the rise in Italia. The number of women patenting in Stem fields is 14.7%, one percentage point higher than the European average. The city leading the relocatement is Milan, which ranks seventh in Europe, but the gap between the number of women graduates in technical-scientific disciplines, almost 40%, and those who patent or found start-ups remains considerable.
This is the picture framing the phenomenon that emerged from the European Patent Office’s Epo study, published in anticipation of International Women’s Day.
“We have recorded an increase, albeit compact, in the share of women inventors in Stem subjects in Italia, rising to 14.7 per cent from 13.8 per cent in 2017, and exceeding the European average, which is 13.8 per cent,” states Roberta Romano Götsch, chief sustainability officer at Epo.
The numbers are based on data for the period 2018-2022 – compared with those for 2013-2017 – and turn the spotlight on the role of women in the innovation chain built evident, for example, by the analysis of start-ups filing Epo patents where only 10% include at least one woman among the founders: in fact, each female founder corresponds to about nine men in the same role.
The data
However, Italia performs better than the European average, ranking fourth in Europe with 12.5% of women startup founders and European patent applicants, after Spain (19.2%), Portugal (15.7%) and Ireland (14.8%). In general, 17% of start-ups founded by a team in Italia include at least one female promoter. But female representation tfinishs to decrease in the more advanced stages of funding.
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