Official: Women Inventor Rate in Iran 10 Percent Higher than Global Average

“Based on a study conducted in the Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy regarding patents registered in Iran, participation of women in patenting has increased by 5% in Iran in the past 5 years which is considered a good situation compared to the global data,” said Mitra Aminlou, the director of Intellectual Property Management Center of the Iranian Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy.

“This figure was nearly 26% two years ago which is 10% more than the world average,” she added.

Aminlou, meantime, underlined that “we are yet far from the optimal state of a balance and we should adopt policies so that women can participate more in the development of technology”.

According to a February report by Iran’s National Innovation Fund, 12% of knowledge-based companies in the country enjoy female managing directors.

23% of members of the board of directors and 12% of the managing-directors of knowledge-based companies in Iran are women. Also, 17% of the shares of knowledge-based companies are owned by women, the report said.

The number of knowledge-based companies in Iran has increased from about 1,500 to nearly 8,260 companies from 2015 to 2023, and in recent years, an average of 1,000 companies have been added to the number of knowledge-based companies, it added.

The three areas of electricity and electronics, software and machinery respectively have the largest number of companies and 65% of knowledge-based companies are active in these three areas. Also, 60% of knowledge-based companies were established after 2014 (implementation of the law to support knowledge-based companies). These companies have earned 16% of the revenue of knowledge-based companies.

At the end of last Iranian year (March 20, 2023), nearly 300,000 people were working in knowledge-based companies, and this figure has grown by 20% compared to the start of the previous year.

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