The Philippines Has the World's Second Highest Number of Female Inventors

When we talk about women scientists in history, the first name that comes to mind is almost always that of Marie Curie. The Polish physicist after all conducted pioneering research on radioactivity and was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 because of it. But when it comes to female inventors of our generation, we don't have to look far. Data from the World Intellectual Property Organization show that the Philippines has the second-highest number of women inventors applying for international patents.

The Switzerland-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) operates through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which assists individuals and institutions in seeking patent protection for their inventions. WIPO data ranked 74 countries based on how large a percentage of those that applied for patents in 2021 were female; the global average was pegged at 17 percent. 

Taking the top spot was Cuba, where 53 percent of patent applicants in 2021 were female. A cool majority. The Philippines came in second with 38 percent. Countries like the U.S. and France remained near the global average percentage while others like Germany, Italy, and Sweden lagged behind the 17 percent mark. Japan meanwhile hung on to the last rungs at just 10 percent.

This story originally appeared on Spot.ph.

* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.