Turkish Women Lead the Way in Patent Applications

Turkish Women Lead in Patent Applications Destek Patent, emphasizing the importance of gender equality in intellectual and industrial property as in all other fields, has reviewed the "World Intellectual Property Indicators 2022" report published by WIPO. Turkey ranks second after Spain with 24.2 percent among female inventors' Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications. Kemal Yamankaradeniz, Chairman of the Board of Destek Patent, who evaluated the data, stresses that Turkey could move to first place and that more incentives are needed for women. April 26, the day the agreement establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) came into force, is celebrated worldwide as Intellectual Property Day. The World Intellectual Property Day, celebrated each year under a different theme, holds an important place in bringing attention to the importance and value of intellectual property. This year's theme for World Intellectual Property Day is "Women and Intellectual Property: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity," drawing attention to the achievements of female inventors who play an important role in the commercialization of many products and demonstrate themselves in value-added production.

Female inventor numbers increased over the last 10 years

According to data published by WIPO, female inventors accounted for 16.5 percent of PCT applications in 2021. The report showing that this ratio has increased over the years indicates that the ratio of female inventors rose from 10.6 percent in 2007 to 16.5 percent in 2021. Additionally, over the last 10 years, the proportion of female inventions has continued to increase in every region of the world. The share of PCT applications with at least one female inventor rose from 20.5 percent in 2007 to 33.3 percent in 2021. The ratio for males declined from 97.7 percent to 95.9 percent in the same period.

Turkey in second place

The gender gap among inventors in PCT applications varies significantly among countries. According to a statement by Destek Patent, Turkish women, ranking second in the number of women filing patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), are in contention for the top spot. Among the top 20 countries with the highest ratio of female inventors in 2021 are Spain (25.7 percent), Turkey (24.2 percent) and China (23.7 percent). India (10.2 percent), Japan (9.8 percent) and Austria (8.6 percent) are among the countries with the lowest female inventor ratios. [caption id="attachment_151924" align="aligncenter"] Kemal Yamankaradeniz[/caption]

Women represent more than one quarter of inventors

Women tend to make more health-related scientific discoveries than men. In biotechnology (29.6 percent), food chemistry (29.1 percent), pharmaceuticals (28.7 percent), analysis of biological materials (25.6 percent) and organic chemistry (25.3 percent), women constitute more than one quarter of inventors listed in published PCT applications.

"Women impact countries' development levels"

Kemal Yamankaradeniz, Chairman of the Board of Destek Patent, who evaluated the data, made the following statement: "The importance of gender equality appears in intellectual and industrial property as it does in all fields. Despite all the obstacles placed before women throughout history, their contributions to science, art and technology cannot be overlooked. The development of science and technology, which play an important role in the progress of countries, depends on ensuring gender equality in the intellectual and industrial property field. While statistical ratios explain the situation, looking from the past to the present, when it comes to science, invention, inventors and entrepreneurship, men come to mind first. In the WIPO report, Turkey ranks second after Spain with a 24.2 percent female ratio in international patent applications where at least one applicant is a woman. Although these numbers increase every day, they are still very low compared to men. An increase in women's contribution to the economy, the strengthening of women in the intellectual and industrial property field and the protection of their rights, raising awareness in this field and carrying out incentive programs for women will be possible through these measures. The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly and 193 member states, underlines that ensuring gender equality and empowering women and girls will contribute to progress in these development goals. As a specialized agency of the UN, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is also dedicating itself to promoting gender equality in the intellectual and industrial property field, taking important steps to raise its gender equality profile. We consider promoting innovation and creativity in women, and achieving economic, social and cultural development to be extremely important. While hoping for gender equality in the intellectual and industrial property field as in all other fields, I celebrate this year's 'World Intellectual Property Day,' which features creative and innovative women as its theme.