Of Innovation and Women

One constant over the years in our Innovation Lab activities has been the prevalence of female colleagues in our community of volunteers. It’s undeniable that most of our results have been achieved thanks to them, women who are convinced that things can always be improved for the benefit of the organization.

To me, this has been an excellent way to identify long-term allies. As these women progressed in their careers and took on more responsibility, they could no longer dedicate as much time to innovation, yet they remained some of our strongest advocates, finding ways to support our activities however they could. Thanks to them, our volunteer community consistently grew over time. And thanks to them, the Innovation Lab has remained alive.

Women Drive Innovation, Yet Remain Underrepresented in Formal Metrics

Data shows that women consistently volunteer at higher rates than men, often taking on community-driven roles, even when these roles remain informal. Yet, if women participate in larger numbers in volunteer-led innovation initiatives, why are they so underrepresented in the metrics that “count” in innovation, such as patents or leadership roles in the field?

This raises two key points.

First, we may be missing a crucial dimension in how we measure innovation: the role of networks, capacity-building, and partnerships in mainstreaming new ideas. These elements are often intangible and difficult to quantify but are essential to the adoption and scaling of innovation. Women play a fundamental role in these processes.

Second, we also need to increase women’s participation in formal innovation metrics. With only 16% of patent inventors globally being women, there is still a clear need to encourage more women into STEM fields, highlight female role models, and create pathways for them to lead. This is an ongoing effort, but it’s only part of the equation.

Formalizing the Informal

Another key step is recognizing the informal contributions women make to innovation communities and ensuring that these efforts are valued accordingly. Part of this means that women themselves should feel empowered to set boundaries, recognizing when volunteering is no longer a learning opportunity but instead work that should be compensated, formalized, or funded for greater impact.

I’ve seen discussions, especially in consulting circles, about women stepping away from unpaid speaking engagements and demanding fair compensation for their expertise. I fully support this. The same logic applies to corporate and institutional environments, where women often dedicate substantial time to volunteer-driven initiatives that shape workplace culture, drive change, and sustain innovation efforts.

At the same time, advocating for recognition shouldn’t fall solely on individual women. Those of us who have seen the impact of these contributions need to be vocal about their value.

Systemic change isn’t just about measuring differently or incentivizing differently at the individual level, it is our collective responsibility to make sure this essential work is visible.