Women in innovation processes as a solution to climate change: A systematic literature review and an agenda for future research

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change 2021-03, Vol.164, p.120440, Article 120440
• Main Authors: Loarne-Lemaire, Séverine Le, Bertrand, Gaël, Razgallah, Meriam, Maalaoui, Adnane, Kallmuenzer, Andreas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate change; Companies; Environmental policy; Female roles; Gender; Innovation; Innovations; Literature reviews; Productivity; Public policy; Science and technology; Scientists; Slr; Systematic review; Technological change; Women
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120440

•Public and R&D policies fail to consider women in innovation against climate change.•Literature on woman in innovation is recent and has been growing in the past decade.•More women in science lead to more patent development.•Women are more engaged in technologies; they adopt and serve a cause in using them.•Women in innovation processes contribute to greater diffusion of innovations. This paper focuses on identifying the means to tackle climate change as it explores the key role women could play in developing and enhancing innovation. Based on a systematic literature review (SLR) of 1,275 journal articles, we explore the impact of a stronger presence of women within institutions, including companies, to take on climate change. We also look at the need to properly align public policies and combat climate change while engaging global companies in the process. The SLR shows that more women within the technological innovation process promise greater productivity and better results. It also reveals that women tend to adopt innovations that have proven to be efficient. We argue that more women in science would contribute to accelerating the development of the necessary technological innovation to counter climate change and promote continued awareness about it. We also argue that more female board members in large companies and public institutions would contribute to not only appropriate climate change policies, but also to a move away from “gadget” technologies that fail to effectively fight rising global temperatures. The article concludes with a discussion of whether we need more women or feminine qualities within innovation processes.