The Patent Gap

The Patent Gap

The Patent Gap

Disparity amongst men and women patent holders is extreme. The National Bureau of Economic Research looked into this very issue and discovered that women only hold 7.5 percent of all patents, and only 5.5 percent of commercial patents (Freakonomics, 2012).

There are many reasons for why it is believed that women produce less patents. From the low rates of women having a degree in science or engineering, to their absence in jobs that might provide an environment of ideas, to women’s reluctance to be “risk takers” (Sheppard, 2012), women are striving to increase their impact on the patent market.

In a 2012 article, “Mothers of Technology: 10 Women Who Invented and Innovated in Tech,” Ricky Robeiro named some of the biggest female innovators of the modern era. They included:

* Susan Kare was the designer who contributed to the interface elements in the Apple Computer

* Hedy Lemarr conceptualized the idea of frequency hopping

* Grace Hopper helped invent some of the early English-language programming languages.

* Ada Lovelace developed and algorithm for a computer that didn’t yet exist

* Mary Lou Jepsen helped to create small screens for computers

* Roberta Williams was a pioneer in PC gaming

* Radia Perlman helped make Ethernet technology to create massive networks

* Erna Hoover invented a telephony switching computer program

* Marissa Mayer was Google’s first female engineer

* Barbara Liskov was one of the first women to receive a computer science degree

Educational disparity plays a huge factor in the lack of female innovations. One reason could be the divergence in why women choose not to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, also known as STEM programs (Marklein, 2012). One reason is gender stereotyping in these types of college majors. Girls who do quite well in science and math in high school quite often choose not to select...