The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) Office of the Chief Economist released a new report last week examining women inventor trends in the United States from 1976 to 2016.  The study showed that only 21 percent of U.S. patents granted during that 40-year period include at least one woman listed as an inventor.  Despite growing rates of women earning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”) degrees, and increasing participation rates among women in nearly all science occupations, women do not patent technology at the significant rates of their male counterparts.  A 2016 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (“IWPR”) reported a similar gender gap in patenting, finding that only 18.8 percent of U.S. patents listed a woman inventor.

Notably, the USPTO study does not discuss the inventing rates of women of color.  Like previous studies by other researchers, because the USPTO does not currently collect demographic data from patent applicants, this study determined the gender of inventors by matching the first names of listed inventors to recognized databases of male and female names.  However, this approach has limitations, including inaccurate results for gender-neutral names, names that correspond to different genders in different languages, and translation of names that have no English equivalent.  These limitations also make it difficult for researchers to analyze patenting rates of inventors according to race and other characteristics.

Although the aggregate patent gap is significant, the USPTO report found an even starker gap in the number of individual women inventors.  In 2016, for example, only 12 percent of all unique inventors granted a patent in the U.S. were women.

In addition to the low rates of patenting among women inventors generally, the study did report a number of other findings:

  • Women working in “technology-intensive states” tend to patent at higher rates. Delaware, with 18 percent, and the District of Columbia and New Jersey with 17 percent each, are home to the highest rates of women inventors, while patent-intensive California, Massachusetts, and New York also have high rates of women inventors at about 15 percent each.
  • Women who live in states that have a higher percentage of women participation in the workforce also tend to patent at higher rates.
  • Women who work on larger, mixed-gender teams also tend to patent at higher rates. Although the report does not provide much detail on this finding, it does suggest that the gender dynamics of collaborative inventor networks has an impact on patenting rate on mixed gender teams.  This conclusion is consistent with the findings of the 2016 IWPR report, as well as studies conducted by other scholars who have found that women in private industry, which tends to employ more collaborative research teams, patent inventions at higher rates than women in academia, where individual research and teaching take priority over patenting and commercialization.

USPTO Director Andrei Iancu has publicly emphasized the importance of encouraging full participation in the innovation ecosystem across demographic groups.  This report is the first of two the USPTO is expected to release this year addressing underrepresentation in patenting and commercializing innovations.  The other report, required by the 2018 Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act (Pub. Law No. 115-273), will be delivered to Congress later this year.  That study directs the USPTO, in consultation with the Small Business Administration, to study disparities in patenting by race, income, and veteran status, in addition to gender, and to make recommendations to Congress and the Administration for closing the gaps in patenting and entrepreneurship experienced by these underrepresented groups.

Photo of Holly Fechner Holly Fechner

Holly Fechner advises clients on complex public policy matters that combine legal and political opportunities and risks. She leads teams that represent companies, entities, and organizations in significant policy and regulatory matters before Congress and the Executive Branch.

She is a co-chair of…

Holly Fechner advises clients on complex public policy matters that combine legal and political opportunities and risks. She leads teams that represent companies, entities, and organizations in significant policy and regulatory matters before Congress and the Executive Branch.

She is a co-chair of the Covington’s Technology Industry Group and a member of the Covington Political Action Committee board of directors.

Holly works with clients to:

Develop compelling public policy strategies
Research law and draft legislation and policy
Draft testimony, comments, fact sheets, letters and other documents
Advocate before Congress and the Executive Branch
Form and manage coalitions
Develop communications strategies

She is the Executive Director of Invent Together and a visiting lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She serves on the board of directors of the American Constitution Society.

Holly served as Policy Director for Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Chief Labor and Pensions Counsel for the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee.

She received The American Lawyer, “Dealmaker of the Year” award in 2019. The Hill named her a “Top Lobbyist” from 2013 to the present, and she has been ranked by Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers from 2012 to the present. One client noted to Chambers: “Holly is an exceptional attorney who excels in government relations and policy discussions. She has an incisive analytical skill set which gives her the capability of understanding extremely complex legal and institutional matters.” According to another client surveyed by Chambers, “Holly is incredibly intelligent, effective and responsive. She also leads the team in a way that brings out everyone’s best work.”

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Photo of Matthew Shapanka Matthew Shapanka

Matthew Shapanka practices at the intersection of law, policy, and politics, developing strategies to guide businesses facing complex legislative, regulatory, and investigative matters. Matt draws on more than 15 years of experience across Capitol Hill, private practice, state government, and political campaigns to…

Matthew Shapanka practices at the intersection of law, policy, and politics, developing strategies to guide businesses facing complex legislative, regulatory, and investigative matters. Matt draws on more than 15 years of experience across Capitol Hill, private practice, state government, and political campaigns to advise clients on leading-edge policy issues involving artificial intelligence, semiconductors, connected and autonomous vehicles, and other critical and emerging technologies.

Matt works with clients to develop and execute complex public policy initiatives that involve legal, political, and reputational risks. He regularly assists clients to:

Develop public policy strategies
Draft federal and state legislation and regulations
Analyze legislation, regulations, and other government initiatives
Craft testimony, regulatory comments, fact sheets, letters and other advocacy materials
Prepare company executives and other witnesses to testify before Congress, state legislatures, and regulatory bodies
Represent clients before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, state legislatures, and state regulatory agencies
Build and manage policy advocacy coalitions

He advises clients across multiple policy areas, including matters involving regulation of critical and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, connected and autonomous vehicles, and semiconductors; national security; intellectual property; antitrust; financial services technologies (“fintech”); food and beverage regulation; COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery; and election administration and campaign finance.

Matt rejoined Covington after serving as Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, where he advised Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on all legal, policy, and oversight matters before the Committee. Most significantly, Matt staffed the Committee in passing the Electoral Count Reform Act – a landmark bipartisan law that updates the procedures for certifying and counting votes in presidential elections—and the Committee’s bipartisan joint investigation (with the Homeland Security Committee) into the security planning and response to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Both in Congress and at Covington, Matt has prepared dozens of corporate and nonprofit executives, academics, government officials, and presidential nominees for testimony at congressional committee hearings and depositions. He is a skilled legislative drafter who has composed dozens of bills and amendments introduced in Congress and state legislatures, including several that have been enacted into law across multiple policy areas. Matt also leads the firm’s state policy practice, advising clients on complex multistate legislative and regulatory matters and managing state-level advocacy efforts.

In addition to his policy work, as a member of Covington’s nationally recognized (Chambers Band 1) Election and Political Law Practice Group, Matt advises and represents clients on the full range of political law compliance and enforcement matters, including:

Federal election, campaign finance, lobbying, and government ethics laws
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Pay-to-Play” rule
Election and political laws of states and municipalities across the country

Before law school, Matt served in the administration of former Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA), where he worked on policy, communications, and compliance matters for federal economic recovery funding awarded to the state. He has also staffed federal, state, and local political candidates in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

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