The EU Prize for Women Innovators has been launched, one of the key measures intended to support female entrepreneurship.
The existing gender gap in innovation is an important concern of the EU, who aims to strengthen inclusivity in innovation as part of the core areas of intervention in the European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE). On 8 March 2022, the EU has launched the ninth edition of the EU Prize for Women Innovators, which is funded under Horizon Europe and managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Applications are open for all women from EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who have founded an innovative company registered in 2020. The deadline for applications is 18 August 2022 at 17:00 (CET), after which the winners will be selected by an independent expert jury and then announced towards the end of the year. Three prizes of €100’000 each will be awarded to three of the most talented women entrepreneurs behind pioneering innovations as well as three prizes of €50’000 each to promising ‘Rising Innovators’ under the age of 35. Winners will be chosen based on three criteria: i. the company founded by the applicant has to provide a breakthrough innovation in the EU market, ii. it needs to address a specific societal challenge and provide significant benefits, and iii. the applicant has to have played a key role in the success of the company and embody an inspiration for other women and girls. As Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said, the prize aims to support women in science and create role models for women and girls.
Women’s empowerment is crucial in the field of science, technology and innovation (STI) considering that women face many obstacles in this field. The GENDERACTION project, which maps and assesses Member States’ progress towards gender equality in R&I, has analysed such obstacles by conducting a survey among women in science across the world. They have shown that barriers include, for example, stereotypes and toxic behaviours, as there is still a societal belief that science is supposed to be a “male discipline”. Additionally, there are not enough women mentors or a strong support system for women in science. Even though girls tend to show an equal amount of interest in careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at a young age, they appear to lose that interest as they grow up. Moreover, according to “The Missing Entrepreneurs 2021” OECD Report, women are less confident in their skills when it comes to founding start-ups than men: only 38% of women reported that they have the skills and knowledge to start a business, compared to about half of men. The European Innovation Council (EIC) reports that three quarters of start-ups in Europe are founded by men but only 8% of start-ups are founded by all-women teams. This further results in low investments into companies led by women: In 2019, 92% of all investments to European start-ups and companies were allocated towards those with all-male founding teams. This disparity in funding has even increased more with the COVID-19 pandemic, where funding towards female-led companies decreased even more (31% decrease) than funding towards male-led companies (16% decrease). In April 2021, Mariya Gabriel met with the European Women in Venture Capital Group, also highlighting that more funding and support needs to be provided for women innovators.
It is thus crucial to address such gender equality issues in international agreements regarding R&I. However, the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC) Standing Working Group on Gender in Research & Innovation (SWG GRI), as well as the Gender STI project which aims to promote gender equality dimensions in international STI cooperation agreements, have reported that there is low interest among national authorities in making an effort towards achieving gender equality in STI. The main bilateral and multilateral agreements in STI often include barely any provisions about gender equality. This is why in recent years, the EU has increasingly focused on creating a gender equality dimension in their R&I policies, such as in the 2021 Global Approach to Research and Innovation, the New ERA Policy Framework and the inclusion of Gender Equality Plans (GEP) in Horizon Europe projects, as well as with the adoption of the Ljubljana Declaration under the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council (see SwissCore article).
Furthermore, gender equality is a core concern of the EIC, who has committed to provide stronger support to women innovators in their Work Programme 2022, where the EU Prize for Women Innovators is a crucial feature. A further initiative by the EIC to support women innovators is the Women TechEU pilot scheme. The programme provides coaching and mentoring under the EIC Women Leadership Programme as well as targeted funding to female founders of deep-tech start-ups. The results of the first Women TechEU call, funded under the European Innovation Ecosystems work programme of Horizon Europe, were announced on 1 March 2022. Projects from 50 female-led companies from 15 different EU countries and countries associated to Horizon Europe will be supported with €75’000 each by the initiative. Another call is foreseen to be launched later this year, with an increased budget of €10 million and about 130 companies chosen to be funded. Additionally, a call for the new EIC Women Leadership Programme, which supports women in innovation and tech by offering specific training, networking events as well as a mentorship and business-coaching scheme, is open until 11 April 2022.
Moreover, to increase women’s confidence in choosing STEM-related career paths, the European Commission (EC) and the European Innovation and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) have started a pilot project with Deloitte, the European Women Association and Vlajo that boosts women’s digital and entrepreneurial competences. Over the next three years, eleven so-called “ESTEAM Fests” will be organised, supporting women’s competences in Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (ESTEAM) and giving them the opportunity to connect with peers and build a network. ESTEAM online communities will also be built to further assist women in maintaining connections with their peers and having the opportunity to increase their competences outside of the ESTEAM Fests. These ESTEAM online communities will be launched in early April 2022, and the first two ESTEAM Girls and Women Fests will take place in Belgium in May and June 2022.