Women Inventors
March 8 is upon us, and with it we have another day to reflect on the conquest of women’s rights, but also on the path that lies ahead of us. On this date, we chose to think this year about female inventors and their current situation.
According to a study published by the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/curiosidades-49919509), less than 13% of the world’s patent applications are authored by women. This equates to only one woman inventor for every seven men. According to this trajectory, gender parity could only be achieved in the year 2070!
In Brazil, the rate of women authors of scientific articles is as high as 49%, but females are a minority in areas such as computer science and mathematics.
This difference is believed to occur due to a deficiency in the field of studies in science, engineering and mathematics. But we also see other points that prevent women from participating in these STEM camps, such as the lack of support in cases of pregnant people or even the lack of support at home, which causes women to suffer from the double (or sometimes triple) day’s work and end up giving up investing in these fields seen as mostly male. There is still a major lack of incentive in culture as a whole, which from the outset teaches children that there are “boy things” – usually encouraging innovation, creation, problem solving – and “girl stuff” – usually focused on caring for people, the home, with a spotlight on physical beauty.
Another important point was raised by WIPO in the article “Bridging the gender gap in Intellectual Property” (https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2018/02/article_0001.html) which reminds us that many of these areas focused on patent filing investments are traditionally considered male areas, such as arts, engineering, sciences, always leaving aside areas that have always been considered feminine, such as crafts, sewing, knitting and other art forms that until recently have been excluded from the forum of patentable materials such as copyright.
Even when women insisted on patenting their inventions, they were prohibited by law and discouraged by society, which led to various filings made in the name of their parents, brothers and husbands. Fortunately, we have come a long way since the time when women were not allowed to have any property in their name, but we can see how much this initial division puts all of us at a disadvantage even today.
It is not just women who lose out because of this disadvantage. Publications such as “Patent filings: where are the women” (World Intellectual Property Review, April 13, 2020) underline the warning from specialists in various fields: without the active participation of the entire society, we lose various talents that could help us with many of the current problems of humanity and boost our potential as a species. As asserted by the Director-General of WIPO, Francis Gurry: “Without gender equality, however, humanity is sadly missing out on realizing its full innovative and creative potential.
We at R&A TranslatorsTM believe that only in a truly egalitarian world will we have more beneficial advances for everyone. The more women we have in all areas, the more plurality of thoughts and therefore the more ideas will arise. We strive for this day to come as soon as possible.
SOURCES:
– https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/curiosidades-49919509
– https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2018/02/article_0001.html
– https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2018/02/article_0008.html
– https://www.worldipreview.com/article/patent-filings-where-are-the-women?success_login=1
– https://www.worldipreview.com/news/female-inventors-doubled-in-last-20-years-ukipo-report-18710
