Exploring Women and Men’s Awareness about IP Rights
13 avril 2026
13 avril 2026 ・ minutes reading time
Women represent half of the world's population, yet they account for less than one-third of inventors globally. This underrepresentation in intellectual property (IP) ecosystems represents a significant economic inefficiency. As research increasingly shows that ideas are becoming harder to find, overlooking the innovative potential of half the population leads to tangible losses: diminished innovation quality, unexplored market segments, and a narrower range of solutions to global challenges.
Several structural barriers limit women’s participation in IP systems: educational obstacles, employment disparities, restricted credit access, discrimination, inadequate recognition for contributions, limited awareness, and negative perceptions of IP. However, comparatively little attention has been paid to broader public awareness of the economic potential of IP rights. As a result, individuals may choose not to engage with innovation and intellectual property systems, even when they possess the capabilities needed to succeed.
Differences in knowledge
Between 2023 and 2025, WIPO conducted a survey among the general population (WIPO Pulse survey) to collect information on knowledge and perceptions about IP rights. The initiative reached more than 60,000 people across 74 countries, with the goal of understanding what people think they know about IP rights versus what they actually know.
We use these data to see whether there are differences in knowledge about IP rights between men and women. A clear pattern emerges: IP knowledge is not distributed in the same way between men and women. Fewer women than men correctly identify patents and trademarks. However, more women often correctly identify what designs, copyrights and geographical indications. Specifically, around 10 percent fewer women than men correctly identify patents and trademarks, but 10 percent more women outperform men on industrial designs and geographical indications. These differences in actual knowledge are partially reflected in subjective knowledge. Fewer women report knowing about patents (13 percent fewer) and geographical indications (11 percent fewer), but more women (2 percent) report knowing about industrial designs compared to men.
How should we interpret these percentages? Put differently, among two randomly selected individuals—a man and a woman—the man is more likely to answer correctly on patents and trademarks, while the woman is more likely to answer correctly on designs, copyrights, and geographical indications.
Taking socio-economic characteristics into account
There are socioeconomic characteristics that differ systematically between women and men and could influence IP awareness. For instance, women are more likely than men to work part-time or to be unemployed, factors potentially correlated with IP knowledge. Respondents also live in countries with varying IP systems and legal frameworks that may shape awareness. To remove these confounding factors, we estimate the differences in knowledge between men and women, taking into account those observable demographic characteristics. Specifically, we compare the knowledge of men and women with identical levels of education, employment status, age, place of residence, household income, and country of residence.
Even when we consider socio-economic characteristics, the differences between men and women do not change. Compared to men, women remain less likely to know about patents and trademarks, and more likely to know about designs, copyrights and geographical indications . Similarly, women are less likely to think they know about patents and geographical indications and more likely to report knowing about industrial designs. Comparing actual and self-reported knowledge, women appear more likely than men to underestimate what they actually know (IP rights related to creative industries).
Differences in knowledge of IP rights between women and men (percentages)
Source: WIPO Pulse Survey, 2023 and 2025
What does this mean?
The persistence of knowledge differences even after accounting for observable socio-economic characteristics reinforces the idea that exposure to innovation is shaped not only by individual attributes but also by broader social and cultural factors. Women demonstrate greater familiarity with IP rights related to creative industries; men demonstrate with IP rights tied to STEM fields and entrepreneurship. The observed disparities cannot be attributed solely to educational or employment differences but could also reflect gender-specific dynamics including social norms about fields of study and work, biases in professional networks and recognition, and different patterns of engagement with different categories of innovation.
Outreach strategies may benefit from complementing awareness campaigns with approaches that recognize different patterns of engagement with innovation systems. Effective interventions must tackle upstream factors: educational tracking that channels women away from technical fields, workplace cultures that shape who accesses which innovation networks, and gatekeeping mechanisms that determine whose contributions receive recognition and protection.
