Women and Intellectual Property

Women have always played an important role in human creativity and progress. Throughout history, people from all backgrounds have changed the world with their ideas and inventions. Yet today, women are still under-represented in intellectual property (IP). For example, only about one in six inventors listed on international patent applications are women. This means much of women’s creative potential is not being used - at a time when the world needs everyone’s ideas to solve its biggest challenges.

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Call for Papers: Global Research Experts Meeting on Improving Women’s Participation in Innovation, Creativity, and Intellectual Property (November 24–25, 2025)

Submit your research, exchange insights, and help shape policies that expand opportunities for women in the global IP landscape.

 
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Innovation by women are changing the world. However, women remain underrepresented in international patenting.

WIPO publications on gender and diversity

To improve diversity in the use of IP for the good of everyone, everywhere, WIPO is guided by two documents.
IP and Gender Action Plan publication cover

IP and Gender Action Plan (IPGAP)

PUBLICATION YEAR: 2023

Our strategic plan for WIPO’s work through policy, data, and capacity-building initiatives to promote and advance women’s engagement in all aspects of IP, innovation, and creativity.

WIPO Policy on Gender Equality publication cover

WIPO Policy on Gender Equality

PUBLICATION YEAR: 2024

Our overall guidance to ensure the equal participation of diverse women and men in both the innovation ecosystem and in the structures and organizations that support it.

Innovation gender gap insights

These stories offer insights from economic research work on the gender gap in innovation in a short and accessible manner. They shed light on what we know and how we measure the gap. They also offer potential actions to address it.

News

WIPO Guidelines on Inclusive Language publication cover

WIPO Guidelines on Inclusive Language

PUBLICATION YEAR: 2022

The challenge – Insufficient data and persisting gender gaps

Disparities exist in the use of the IP system by women and other groups. WIPO is working to bridge them. According to WIPO data released in March 2024, it is estimated that only 17.7 percent of inventors named in international patent applications were women in 2023. While numbers are rising, progress is slow. WIPO estimates that, at current rates, parity among Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)-listed inventors will only be reached in 2077.

Find out more

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Women’s participation in international patent applications in 2023

IPGAP Database

Global policies and initiatives supporting women and IP
WIPO's IPGAP Database serves as a comprehensive resource showcasing global policies and initiatives that enhance women’s participation in innovation and intellectual property (IP). By providing practical examples and data, it helps guide policymakers and organizations in developing strategies that address national needs, while also offering researchers valuable insights into how these policies can promote women’s involvement in the IP ecosystem.
The IPGAP Database allows users to easily locate policies (such as laws, regulations, or guidelines) and initiatives (including projects and activities) that support women’s active engagement in innovation, IP, and entrepreneurship. 
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World Intellectual Property Day 2024

WIPO provides governments and stakeholders with data and policymaking tools to enhance national ecosystems for women and girls, delivering impactful activities promoting women's use of IP in innovation and creativity.
Join us in celebrating World Intellectual Property Day 2024! Explore how IP can amplify the impact of innovative and creative solutions for building our common future and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Initiatives at WIPO

We are working to mainstream gender equality considerations in all our activities and to increase the number of women who participate in the IP system by expanding knowledge and capacities. WIPO drives and participates in research on gender equality, diversity and IP and celebrates the ingenuity of inventors, creators and innovators from all groups.

Inspiring innovators

Find more inspiring innovators among our case studies and WIPO Magazine articles.

Research and studies

  • Policy Approaches to Close the Intellectual Property Gender Gap - Practices to Support Access to the Intellectual Property System for Female Innovators, Creators and Entrepreneurs [PDF]
  • Challenges for Women Inventors and Innovators in Using the Intellectual Property System - A Literature Review [PDF]
  • Women and IP Commercialization in the Asian region: the case of the Philippines [PDF]
  • Women and IP Commercialization in the Asian region: the case of Sri Lanka [PDF]
Additional resources are available on WIPO's dedicated YouTube channel.

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