On November 20, 2024, major corporations including AT&T, Lenovo, Owens Corning, Meta, and Twilio took significant steps towards transparency by publicly disclosing their women inventorship statistics [4c7179cc]. This initiative aims to encourage inclusivity and address the gender disparity in innovation. Notably, AT&T reported a 2023 inventorship rate for women of 20.6%, a substantial increase from 12% in 2018. Similarly, Lenovo's rate stood at 18.0%, Meta at 17.6%, Owens Corning at 24.0%, and Twilio at 18.4% [4c7179cc].
The statistics reveal a broader context of gender representation in the U.S. patent system, where women accounted for only 12.8% of inventor-patentees in 2019 [4c7179cc]. The push for diversity is further underscored by the fact that women represent 35% of STEM graduates in the U.S., highlighting the potential for increased female participation in innovation [4c7179cc].
In 2021, the Diversity Pledge was launched by the U.S. Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA) to combat underrepresentation in the field [4c7179cc]. Kathi Vidal, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), emphasized the importance of inclusivity in driving innovation [4c7179cc]. Professor Lisa Cook has also noted that quadrupling the number of inventors could lead to a 4.4% increase in U.S. GDP, equating to an impressive $1 trillion [4c7179cc].
These developments align with the recent advancement of the IDEA Act, co-sponsored by Senators Mazie Hirono and Thom Tillis, which aims to collect demographic data from patent applicants to better understand and address disparities in the patent system [3d8f3097]. As these legislative and corporate efforts unfold, the focus on diversity in innovation continues to gain momentum, underscoring its critical role in economic growth and technological advancement.