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7.6.2International comparison of the Women Inventor Rate (WIR)

The international technology position of Flanders with regard to patents (EPO and USPTO) has already been charted by VARIO in detail in advisory report 30. To measure and monitor the 'technological and economic impact of our excellent research' the indicator 'number of patents applied for with Flemish applicant and/or inventor per million inhabitants' is selected (VARIO-advisory report 13). This indicator is aligned with the one used in the Flemish Indicator Book.

For Flemish patents, the number of unique Flemish female and male inventors is then determined based on the methodology mentioned above. Between 2001 and 2017, those numbers evolved from 155 to 365 and from 989 to 1483, respectively (see Figure 1). These figures also allow the WIR to be calculated. This shows that the proportion of Flemish female inventors in Flemish EPO patent applications increased from 0.14 in 2001 to 0.2 in 2017. Thus, among Flemish inventors in Flemish patents, only 1 in 5 is a woman.

Figure 1. Evolution of the number of male and female Flemish inventors and of the proportion of Flemish female inventors in Flemish EPO patent applications between 2001 and 2017

Number of female inventorsNumber of male inventorsWIR02004006008001000120014001600Number of male and female Flemish inventors20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017Year0,000,050,100,150,200,25(WIR) Proportion of Flemish female inventors (Red line)20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017 Number of female inventorsNumber of male inventorsWIR02004006008001000120014001600Number of male and female Flemish inventors20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017Year0,000,050,100,150,200,25(WIR) Proportion of Flemish female inventors (Red line)20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017 Number of female inventorsNumber of male inventorsWIR050010001500Number of male and female Flemish inventors20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017Year0,000,050,100,150,200,25(WIR) Proportion of Flemish female inventors (Red line)20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017

Source: ECOOM

The same analysis was also done for other countries. (So e.g. for the Netherlands this means that all patents with a Dutch inventor and/or applicant are considered, but only Dutch inventors are counted.) Flanders ranks well in international comparison (see Figure 2). Flanders shares the third place with Belgium and France in terms of WIR for EPO applications (2017), after the US and Spain. The VARIO benchmark countries Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark all score lower. (For Switzerland, the chosen methodology did not allow for a gender breakdown). For granted USPTO patents (2016), Flanders shares the fourth place with Belgium and Denmark.

Figure 2: International comparison of the WIR (proportion of female inventors) for EPO patent applications (2017) and granted USPTO patents in (2016)

EPO-patent applications (2017)Granted USPTO patents (2016)0,000,050,100,150,200,25Proportion of female inventorsESUSBEFRVLNLGBEU27SEFIITDKDECountry or Region0,000,050,100,150,200,25ESUSBEFRVLNLGBEU27SEFIITDKDE EPO-patent applications (2017)Granted USPTO patents (2016)0,000,050,100,150,200,25Proportion of female inventorsESUSBEFRVLNLGBEU27SEFIITDKDECountry or Region0,000,050,100,150,200,25ESUSBEFRVLNLGBEU27SEFIITDKDE EPO-patent applications (2017)Granted USPTO patents (2016)0,000,050,100,150,200,25Proportion of female inventorsESUSBEFRVLNLGBEU27SEFIITDKDECountry or Region0,000,050,100,150,200,25ESUSBEFRVLNLGBEU27SEFIITDKDE

Source: ECOOM

VARIO also benchmarks the technology position of Flanders against 17 benchmark regions. The gender assignment methodology used on a first-name basis could be applied to 11 of those 17 regions. In that regional comparison, Flanders does even better with a second place after Denmark's Hovedstaden (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Comparison of the WIR (proportion of female inventors) for EPO patent applications in 2017 in Flanders and some VARIO benchmark regions

Company (2017)0,000,020,040,060,080,100,120,140,160,180,200,22Proportion of female inventorsHovedstadenStockholmNoord-BrabantUtrechtVlaanderenHelsinki-UusimaaSydsverigeKarlsruheTübingenOberbayernStuttgartRegion0,000,020,040,060,080,100,120,140,160,180,200,22HovedstadenStockholmNoord-BrabantUtrechtVlaanderenHelsinki-UusimaaSydsverigeKarlsruheTübingenOberbayernStuttgart Company (2017)0,000,050,100,150,20Proportion of female inventorsHovedstadenStockholmNoord-BrabantUtrechtVlaanderenHelsinki-UusimaaSydsverigeKarlsruheTübingenOberbayernStuttgartRegion0,000,050,100,150,20HovedstadenStockholmNoord-BrabantUtrechtVlaanderenHelsinki-UusimaaSydsverigeKarlsruheTübingenOberbayernStuttgart Company (2017)0,000,050,100,150,20Proportion of female inventorsHovedstadenStockholmNoord-BrabantUtrechtVlaanderenHelsinki-UusimaaSydsverigeKarlsruheTübingenOberbayernStuttgartRegion0,000,050,100,150,20HovedstadenStockholmNoord-BrabantUtrechtVlaanderenHelsinki-UusimaaSydsverigeKarlsruheTübingenOberbayernStuttgart

Source: ECOOM

Figure 4 shows the evolution of the WIR for Flanders, Belgium and four VARIO benchmark countries (Switzerland is missing). A clear - albeit uneven - increase can be observed in the period 2001-2017. Also notable is the steadfast progress of the WIR in the Netherlands.

Figure 4: WIR in Flanders, Belgium and 4 VARIO benchmark countries for EPO patent applications

BelgiumDenmarkFinlandNetherlandsSwedenFlanders0,100,120,140,160,180,200,22Proportion of female inventors20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017Year0,100,120,140,160,180,200,2220012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017 BelgiumDenmarkFinlandNetherlandsSwedenFlanders0,100,120,140,160,180,200,22Proportion of female inventors20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017Year0,100,120,140,160,180,200,2220012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017 BelgiumDenmarkFinlandNetherlandsSwedenFlanders0,100,120,140,160,180,200,22Proportion of female inventors20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017Year0,100,120,140,160,180,200,2220012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017

Source: ECOOM