This report updates the USPTO’s 2019 report on U.S. women inventor-patentees, “Progress and Potential,”using three years of new data, covering 2017 through 2019. It provides new information on women’s participation in the U.S. patent system, finding, among other things, that women make up an increasing share of all new entrants to the patent system, rising from about 5% of new inventor-patentees in 1980 to 17.3% by 2019 (see figure).
Among the report's major findings:
- More women are entering and staying active in the patent system than ever before.
- The number of patents with at least one woman inventor increased from 20.7% in 2016 to 21.9% by the end of 2019.
- The “Women Inventor Rate” (WIR) – the share of U.S. inventors receiving patents who are women – increased from 12.1% in 2016 to 12.8% in 2019.
- The share of women among new inventors on issued patents increased from 16.6% in 2016 to 17.3% by 2019.
- The gender gap in the number of women inventors who remain active by patenting again within five years is decreasing. For new inventors in 2014, 46% of women patented again in the next five years versus 52% of men (by 2019). In 1980, the gap was 28% for women versus 38% for men.
- Among the leading patent filers, the 3M Company showed the largest improvement in the participation of women inventor-patentees: Their average WIR increased from 15.2% over 2007-2016 to 16.6% for 2007-2019.
More information
Summary and link to the 2019 report
On February 11, 2019, the USPTO released "Progress and Potential: A profile of women inventors on U.S. patents," a report on the trends and characteristics of U.S. women inventors named on U.S. patents granted from 1976 through 2016. The report shows that women comprise a small minority of patent inventors. Further, it highlights the untapped potential of women to spur U.S. innovation. Women, like other under-represented groups, are among the “lost Einsteins”—people who may contribute valuable inventions had they been exposed to innovation and had greater access to the patent system when they were young.1
1 Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova, John Van Reenen; Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, forthcoming, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjy028
Additional resources
- Press release on "Progress and Potential: 2020 update on U.S. women inventor-patentees," July 21, 2020
- Press release on "Progress and Potential: A profile of women inventors on U.S. patents," February 11, 2019
- 2019 report, "Progress and Potential: A profile of women inventors on U.S. patents"
- Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act of 2018
- Report to Congress pursuant to P.L. 115-273, the SUCCESS Act