The EPO organises three virtual roundtables on the current state of women in IP and innovation. These events will gather outstanding women inventors, heads of international patent offices, patent attorneys and representatives of academia to discuss the barriers to overcoming the gender gap and potential measures to enhance women's contributions to innovation.
There is a consistent pattern of a decreasing share of women in segments ranging from total employment to PhD enrolment, to PhD graduates in STEM, to R&D personnel and researchers, to patenting. This confirms a "leaking pipeline", whereby women in EPO countries face increasing obstacles as they progress through STEM careers.
The first of three panels focuses on the leaking pipeline in STEM. Join Roberta Romano-Götsch, EPO Chief Sustainability Officer, as she leads a conversation with:
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Women are over-represented among inventors whose names and surnames are infrequent in their country of activity and more frequent abroad, which indicates a higher WIR for migrant women inventors than for native ones. This suggests that support for international mobility may give women more opportunities to engage in inventive careers.
The second of three panels covers mobility and its potential benefits. Join Steve Rowan, EPO Vice-President Patent Granting Process, as he leads a conversation with:
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Women are more likely to work in inventor teams than as individual inventors, but fewer occupy senior positions in such teams compared to men. This reflects the increasing division of intellectual labour that accompanies the accumulation of knowledge, especially in technology fields in which women inventors tend to specialise and bodes well for the future of women in patenting.
The third and final panel takes a closer look at inventor teams, discusses their benefits and considers solutions for closing the gender gap. Join Nellie Simon, EPO Vice-President Corporate Services, as she leads a conversation with:
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