How women inventors can get ahead

Women come up with nearly as many new inventions as men, but they face a greater struggle to get ideas to market and to find development funding.

Brain wave: Tanya Ewing's Ewgeco

The Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network was set up ten years ago to redress this balance and put female inventors in touch with mentors and potential investors.

Bolo Olabisi founded the network in London and has since seen it grow to have worldwide links. Half of GWIIN's 2,600 members come from the UK, but conferences are organised on all continents to help women share views and technical expertise.

Bolo says: 'When I founded the network most female inventors were coming up with low-tech things that could be used in the home.

'They had to fight for attention from investors, mostly men, who could not see the benefit.' The organisation has helped almost 1,000 inventions come to the marketplace.

Tanya Ewing not only received help and advice from the network, but her invention won the top prize in the organisation's recent awards.

Tanya's device, the Ewgeco, attaches to power meters and sends a radio signal to a handheld device showing how much energy is being used - eliminating the need to crawl into awkward spaces to get an upto-date reading.

Tanya, 39, from Perth, near Dundee, believes the gadget will help people save money and encourage a more green approach to power.' This will draw attention to the energy we use,' she says. ' Just saving one penny an hour equals £ 87.60 a year.