More patents go to women

An exploratory study commissioned by the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) found an increasing rate of patents granted to women from 1975 to 2010. The most recent trend was marked by an incredible 35% increase from 2009 to 2010. In 2008, a total of 16,321 patents had been granted to women growing to 17,061 in 2009 and 22,984 in 2010. While women have traditionally not made up a large portion of intellectual property owners, the increasing female patent and trademark ownership highlights the accelerated influence of female entrepreneurship, says NWBC Chair Donna James. Further, “Patent and trademark ownership is often an indicator of entrepreneurial activity,” says James. Hence, an increase in granted trademarks and patents to women could indicate a strong growth in women-owned companies and a loss in valuable key talent for companies which do not offer career progress opportunities to women. Similar tendencies have been observed for ethnic minority or GLBT staff who choose to become self-employed when they hit the coloured or the lavender ceilings.