TECHNIS is pleased to invite you to a free webinar. TECHNIS webinars focus on recent legal, economic, managerial, ethical and policy issues related to technological innovation. Our approach is interdisciplinary and presentations are given by experts in different fields such as economics, law, management, STS, sociology, anthropology and philosophy. Webinar presentations last for 20min and are followed by a 40min discussion.

Please join us for a webinar on Tuesday the 20th of January 2026 at 11:00 London time i.e. 12:00 Brussels time, 13:00 Athens time. The speaker is Emilio Raiteri, Eindhoven University of Technology. The title of the talk is "Witch Hunt and Female Inventors" .

This webinar is free and open to all. The moderator is Dr. Andreas Panagopoulos. 

Join Zoom Meeting: https://uoc-gr.zoom.us/j/84642993639?pwd=4mpCWh3kXwL7TeODcCa7UZ9cKEbbYU.1

Meeting ID: 846 4299 3639
Passcode: 532636

Abstract: This paper explores the long-term impact of historical female persecution on women's participation in innovation. We investigate whether the widespread witch hunts in Germany during the 16th and 17th centuries, which disproportionately targeted women, contributed to the persistent gender gap in innovation today. Using historical records of witch trials and modern patenting data, we show that areas with more intense witch trials exhibit a significantly lower proportion of female inventors. Our findings are robust across various empirical specifications, including alternative measures of persecution intensity and different regional samples. By uncovering a historical determinant of gender disparities in innovation, this study contributes to the broader literature on the long-term effects of discrimination and gender inequality in STEM fields.

Short Bio: Emilio Raiteri is Assistant Professor in the Technology, Innovation & Society group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). He is an applied economist whose research focuses on the economics of innovation, particularly innovation policy and intellectual property. Before joining TU/e, he was a postdoctoral fellow at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) in Switzerland. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Turin in February 2015, where he was affiliated with BRICK (Bureau of Research on Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge).

.