The first national festival of creative and entrepreneur women opens on Tuesday in Tehran both in person and virtually, according to the National Innovation Fund.

Coinciding with National Women’s Day, the two-day event is held aiming to emphasize the successful presence of women in the development of a sustainable economy in recent years and honor those who are working toward a sustainable economy.

The festival also identifies and introduces the capacities and talents of women in Iran STI eco-system, attracts attention to the role of women in the development of a sustainable economy, models successful and leading patterns in the STI eco-system, and provides platforms and infrastructures for the introduction of hi-tech products by women in creative firms.

Expert meetings and reviewing the experiences of success and failure of women CEOs in high-tech and creative firms, holding an exhibition of hi-tech products and services, and praising selected projects of entrepreneurs and creative women are among the events held during the festival.

Given that women comprise more than half of Iran’s university graduates, they can play a significant role in the transition to a knowledge-based economy.

Although the share of women in the country’s employment is less than 20 percent, the CEOs of about 11 percent of knowledge-based companies are women. These statistics show the prominent role of women in the advanced fields of science, technology, and innovation.

Women’s participation above global average

The participation of Iranian women in research and development fields is higher than the global average, according to the UNESCO 2020 report on Women in Science.

Iranian women’s participation in research and development has increased from 27.7 percent in 2019 to 31.2 percent in 2020, which is above the global average of 30 percent.

The increase in the share of women in research and development is mostly due to their increasing share in knowledge-based companies, Masoumeh Ebtekar, the vice president for women’s and family affairs, said in August 2020. /T.T/