Three Takeaways on IP, Innovation and Gender Gaps

Entrepreneurs, inventors, and creators drive the engine of innovation. Yet, systemic barriers tied to socio-economic and demographic factors often stifle their potential, leading to missed opportunities for economic growth and societal progress. Addressing these challenges is crucial to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic global innovation landscape.

On November 25 and 26, WIPO hosted its first Global Research Experts Meeting on Improving Gender and Diversity in Intellectual Property (IP) and Innovation, a forum where academics, researchers, and policy experts from more than 40 countries gathered to explore research, data, and policy solutions aimed at building a more inclusive global IP landscape.

This meeting was held under the framework of WIPO’s IP and Gender Action Plan (IPGAP), a strategic initiative designed to promote and advance women’s engagement in all aspects of IP, innovation, and creativity. IPGAP works through policy, data, and capacity-building initiatives to create a more inclusive IP ecosystem. The event was closely aligned with IPGAP’s second pillar—Proof—which emphasizes the critical role of gathering and analyzing data to identify and quantify gender gaps in innovation and IP. The discussions opened with an exploration of why women are underrepresented in IP systems, touching on issues like the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Experts then examined challenges, methodologies, and metrics to capture gender diversity in IP. They discussed representation across professions, academia, and creative industries and reflected on how diverse participation fuels innovation. The meeting concluded with a call to incorporate these insights into decision making and development strategies.

Key takeaways

The meeting highlighted three main and interconnected priorities for action: the need for harmonized gender-disaggregated data, stronger links between research and policymaking, and the risk of under-representation of regions and sectors in the measurement of participation gaps.

1. More and more disaggregated data for evidence-based policy

A recent report by WIPO revealed that in 2023 women accounted for only 17.7 percent of listed inventors in international patent applications. Panelists corroborated this finding and discussed factors such as social norms, caregiving responsibilities, workplace harassment, and a lack of role models, that perpetuate this disparity. However, if we want to change the narrative and improve participation, we need to identify and quantify barriers, assess their persistence, and understand their mechanisms.

The key is disaggregated and harmonized data across regions and institutions that can be linked to information from other statistical offices. In this way, we can uncover trends, design targeted interventions, and evaluate policy effectiveness. Being able to conduct policy evaluations means being able to assess what works and what does not, for different groups, and design a roadmap for future policies and interventions. With disaggregated data, integrated across various statistical offices and IP systems, we can identify which groups are more penalized and study patterns within and across regions, highlighting which issues are local, and require targeted interventions, and which ones need international action.

2. Narrowing the gap between research and policy

More data allows a deeper analysis of the mechanisms that hinder women’s participation in innovation. But how can we effectively make innovation more inclusive? Understanding the barriers to diversity in innovation, and quantifying the losses and potential gains from inclusion, is only the first step. Transforming this knowledge into impactful policy requires bridging the gap between researchers and policymakers. Researchers analyze data and uncover trends, while policymakers design and implement interventions. However, these groups often operate on different timelines and priorities, which can hinder collaboration: while researchers might not know how to translate their conclusions into action, even the more motivated government might not be aware of which issue to tackle first.

To make the change happen and exploit the potential of diversity, we need to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations between scholars and policy experts. International organizations, such as WIPO, can be the pivotal actors in bridging these two worlds, facilitating the translation of data into policy and creating a platform where different areas of expertise can find a common ground, define common targets and overcome tradeoffs.

3. Ensure each region and sector are represented

Discussions also highlighted significant underrepresentation of certain regions and sectors in innovation research. African countries and the creative industries, for example, are often overlooked. The intersectional nature of diversity issues, combined with this additional lack of information, can create a butterfly effect and make it harder to address participation gaps for groups that are already under-represented within the IP ecosystem. If we can access the data from certain regions and industries only, statistics and indicators are not going to be fully informative since the patterns they capture might not account for cultural or professional differences. For instance, regions with unique cultural and economic characteristics may prioritize different IP tools, such as designs over patents, while sectors like the creative industries might operate under distinct professional structures compared to engineering or technology fields.

To ensure not only innovation, but also research and policy on innovation is inclusive, it is necessary to clearly identify which topics, and which regions are under-represented, and understand what the extent of the under-representation is. Namely, whether it is a lack of data or a lack of research. This requires close collaborations between governments, IP offices, and local academic institutions. Incentives for research on underrepresented areas and partnerships with regional organizations are essential to ensure a comprehensive understanding of global innovation dynamics.

The meeting offered the opportunity to discover incredible research papers. If you would like to learn more about them, you can find the list below: