Although the presence of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has steadily increased over recent decades, their transition into the world of patented innovation remains marked by significant barriers. According to a detailed study published by the European Patent Office in 2026, while women now account for approximately 37% of STEM PhD graduates in the European Union, this proportion is far from being reflected in patent filings.
This article provides a documented overview of the evolution of women’s role in innovation, with a particular focus on Europe and France.
Real but Particularly Slow Progress at the European Level
Historically, women’s participation in patent filings in Europe has increased linearly, but the gender gap remains wide. The Female Inventor Rate (FIR), which measures the share of women among all inventors listed in European patent applications, rose from around 2% in the late 1970s to 13% in 2019, reaching only 13.8% in 2022.
However, a more positive trend is observed in teamwork. The proportion of European patent applications including at least one woman among the inventors reached 24.1% in 2022, compared to less than 4% in the early 1980s. This shows that women’s integration into innovation increasingly occurs through collaborative dynamics, although they remain underrepresented as individual inventors.
The Case of France: An Innovation Hub with Mixed Results
Compared with the European average, France shows slightly better results, although progress is stagnating. The French FIR increased from 16.4% over the 2013–2017 period to 16.6% over 2018–2022.
At the regional level, France hosts several of Europe’s most inclusive innovation hubs. Regions such as Val-de-Marne, Paris, Essonne, and Hauts-de-Seine rank among European leaders in terms of female inventor rates, well above the national averages observed in countries such as Germany or Sweden.
Regarding patent-related professions, France stands out positively: in 2025, 40.1% of European patent attorneys in France were women, placing the country among the major jurisdictions with the highest female representation in this profession, compared with only 20.7% in Germany.
However, a clear divide appears in entrepreneurship. While women represent approximately 20% of founders of startups not engaged in patenting, this share drops sharply to around 10% for technology startups that file patents.
Sectoral and Institutional Disparities: The Weight of Life Sciences
EPO statistics highlight that female representation in invention varies significantly depending on technological sectors and organizational types.
Technological divide: Fields related to life sciences are the most gender-balanced. Over the 2018–2022 period, the highest FIRs are found in pharmaceuticals, 34.9%, biotechnology, 34.2%, and food chemistry, 32.3%. In contrast, mechanical and electrical engineering remain highly male-dominated, with rates dropping to 5.7% for machine tools and 4.9% for mechanical components.
Institutional divide: Universities and public research organizations show the highest female inventor rates, 24.4%, compared to approximately 11.6% for commercial enterprises. This can be explained both by the specialization of academic institutions in life sciences and by environments that may be more receptive to gender equality policies.
The Research Paradox: A “Leakage of Talent”
One of the most striking findings of the study, notably through the EPO’s DOC-TRACK research project, is that the lack of female inventors is not due to a lack of potential or scientific quality.
By analyzing the trajectories of STEM PhD graduates in Europe, researchers found that women with doctorates are about twice less likely than men to file patents. Yet the study demonstrates that research conducted by women is just as close to the “technological frontier,” meaning directly cited by patents, as that of their male counterparts, with a female-to-male ratio close to 0.83 to 1.1 depending on proximity.
This gap between academic research and technological commercialization indicates that the disparity is primarily driven by social, institutional, and economic factors, such as limited access to networks, family responsibilities, and evaluation biases, rather than by a lack of relevant outcomes.
Technological Entrepreneurship: The Challenge of Deep Tech Startups
The gender gap widens further in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Data show that women represent less than 10% of founders of startups holding European patents. At the company level, only 13.5% of these startups include at least one woman in their founding team.
The study also reveals that the gender gap is much more pronounced in patenting startups than in those that do not patent, 10% female founders compared to 17.4%. Furthermore, companies co-founded by women face greater difficulties in scaling: while they may represent up to 14% of early-stage startups, zero to five years, their presence declines sharply in later funding rounds or successful acquisition phases.
Conclusion
While the evolution of women’s role in science and innovation is generally positive, it remains uneven and encounters a significant “glass ceiling” when transitioning from research to intellectual property and technological entrepreneurship.
As António Campinos, President of the European Patent Office, stated: “diversity is not just an asset, it is the engine of breakthrough innovation.” Bridging this gender gap is no longer solely a matter of social equity, but a strategic imperative for Europe’s competitiveness and technological sovereignty.
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