The history of the Patent Office was male-dominated for over a century: 116 years passed from its founding in 1899 until Mariana Karepova became the first woman to head the office. From then on, the issue of gender equality became more and more of a focus.

Together with my team, I will continue along this path, because there is still a lot to do. This is also illustrated by the survey we conducted in 2023 on the low rate of female inventors: women do great work, but the stage is then far too often taken by their male colleagues – also in the field of research and innovation. As a reaction, we at the Patent Office have put together a package of measures. Because one thing is clear: given the current crises and challenges, we cannot afford to do without good ideas.

When the European Patent Office published a study stating that the rate of female inventors is lower in Austria than in any other European country, we immediately realized this was a call to action. As a first step, we set out to find the reasons and conducted a qualitative survey comprising almost 100 questions amongst inventors, patent attorneys, social partners and research funding organizations, universities and scientists from a wide range of fields. The result: in addition to more visibility for the achievements of women, the respondents wanted more awareness and education programs, incentives through prizes, awards and financial assistance with patent applications, as well as more personal support from the patent office.

We have taken this on board and put together a comprehensive package of measures.

For example, we have launched the "Buddy for her" advisory service, established a special category for women in the State Patent Award, organized networking meetings and workshops and are working on a new regulation for naming inventors in Austria.