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Male and female involvement in patenting activity in Spain

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Abstract

The involvement of male and female scientists in the technological activity developed in Spain is analysed through the study of patent applications filed with the Spanish OEPM database during the period 1990–2005. Comparative analyses based on participation, contribution and inventors by gender are presented and discussed. The study reveals a low female involvement in technology, which tends to concentrate in specific institutional sectors (public research institutions) and technological sections (A/Human Necessities and C/Chemistry). Over the 16-year period analysed the involvement of female scientists rose at a higher rate than that of men in most of the institutional sectors and technological fields. The highest relative increase corresponds to University and Spanish National Research Council, and our data suggest that it is enhanced by collaboration. To make the production of sex-disaggregated technology indicators easier the inclusion of the sex of the inventors as an additional field in patent databases would be desirable, as well as a higher normalisation of inventor names, applicant names (full names) and institutional affiliations.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a FPU grant (AP2003-1361) from the Spanish Education Ministry, as well as by the Spanish Labour and Social Affairs Ministry (Research project I+D+I 87/02).

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  1. Instituto de Estudios Documentales en Ciencia y Tecnología (IEDCYT), Center for Human and Social Sciences (CCHS), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Elba Mauleón & María Bordons

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  1. Elba Mauleón
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  2. María Bordons
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Correspondence to Elba Mauleón.

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Mauleón, E., Bordons, M. Male and female involvement in patenting activity in Spain. Scientometrics 83, 605–621 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0131-x

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