Fewer than 1 in 10 patenting startup founders is a woman

The EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology has published a new study on women in STEM, exposing the slow progress and gaps in inventive activity, patenting entrepreneurship, patent professions and the career pathways of PhD graduates. Released ahead of the International Woman Day, the report not only aligns with the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy, the objectives of the European Research Area, and Europe’s ambition to strengthen technological sovereignty under the New European Innovation Agenda, but also provides robust, pan-European evidence to inform and support these policy priorities.

“There is an obvious gain for Europe in boosting women’s participation in innovation,” said EPO President António Campinos. “Diversity is not a nice-to-have, it is fuel for breakthrough innovation. This study exposes the persistent roadblocks in our path to progress so that Europe can unlock the full innovation potential across research, patenting, and entrepreneurship. The EPO takes an active role in this mission. Today around a quarter of our examiners are women and this figure is increasing every year, thanks to targeted recruitment efforts. Last year, 31% of new examiner hires were women, and the proportion of women in our Young Professionals programme has stayed above 50%, ensuring a strong pipeline of future talent.”  

The study shows that the share of women among inventors in Europe has increased only marginally in recent years, reaching 13.8% in 2022 (up from 13% in 2019). While women are increasingly present in inventor teams (from 21.6% in 2019 to 24.1% in 2022), they remain far less likely to be named as individual inventors or patenting startup founders– highlighting persistent structural barriers. Among countries, Portugal and Spain show promising trends with the lowest gaps.

Women’s participation varies sharply across technology fields. Pharmaceuticals (34.9%), biotechnology (34.2%) and food chemistry (32.3%) show the highest proportion of women inventors, reflecting their stronger presence in life‑science‑driven research. In contrast, some of the most patent‑intensive engineering domains record the lowest levels: machine tools (5.7%), basic communication processes (5.5%) and mechanical elements (4.9%) sit at the bottom of the distribution. Universities and public research organisations display by far the highest proportion of women inventors (24.4%), while smaller businesses show the lowest participation rates.

Women remain strongly underrepresented in patenting startups

The gender gap is particularly pronounced in startups with European patents. Only 13.5% of startups with patents include a woman founder. Differences across Europe are substantial: Spain, Portugal and Ireland show the highest participation rates. These findings come just as the EU is launching the Action Plan for women in research, innovation and startups) which stresses the importance of inclusive innovation ecosystems to reinforce Europe’s competitiveness in strategic technologies.

Newer startups show higher shares of women founders (over 14% for younger ventures vs. around 5.9% for companies over 20 years old), suggesting that newly created startups are becoming more diverse. However, companies co-founded by women appear to face greater challenges in scaling: women’s representation declines in later, more advanced funding rounds and for successfully acquired firms.

Widening gaps over time and untapped potential for innovation

Across all countries, women remain underrepresented among STEM PhD graduates that contribute to patenting as inventors, despite their strong presence at doctoral level. The gap widens at each career stage, reflecting a persistent “leaky pipeline” that becomes especially visible when researchers move toward commercialising their inventions. The study also finds that women’s research has comparable inventive potential to men’s, suggesting that lower participation in patenting is not due to a lack of highly relevant research results, but rather to social, institutional and economic factors shaping career opportunities.

Closing the gap in the patent profession landscape

Women’s presence in the patent profession is improving. In 2025, women accounted for 25.5% of patent examiners at the EPO, and over 30% of new hires. Among European patent attorneys, women now represent 29.2%, up from 28% 10 years ago. These improving trends support the EU’s broader objectives of diversity and inclusion in legal-technical professions.

Join the event: The future needs her

The EPO’s Observatory on Patents and Technology will explore the study, the challenges it outlines as well as solutions at an online event on Tuesday, 3 March at 10.00 hrs CET. Whether you are a woman already working in STEM — or just beginning your journey — the event offers inspiration and guidance on advancing your career. For those working in policy, research, industry, finance or entrepreneurship, it provides data-driven analyses and potential solutions for building a more inclusive STEM ecosystem. A recording will be made available online after the event.

Inside the study

Advancing women in STEM draws on contributions from 22 national patent offices that provided support for promotion and communications, as well as input on the initiatives being developed at the national level in Europe to support women in STEM. European organisations also collaborated and shared insights into their policies and programmes: the European Commission (DG Research and Innovation), the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi) provided input into the study.

The study brings together updated patent indicators for all European Patent Convention (EPC) member states, data from European startups from the EPO’s Deep Tech Finder, and new linked data that traces STEM career trajectories—from doctoral training through publishing, patenting and entrepreneurial activity—over time. This analysis is enabled by the DOC-TRACK project, an academic research initiative supported by the EPO’s Academic Research Programme (ARP).

Designed to inspire and inform practical action, the study also profiles four accomplished women inventors: Dame Carol Robinson and Cordelia Schmid, recipients of the European Inventor Award, and Pilar Granado and Marie Perrin, winners of the Young Inventors Prize.