Engaging More Women in Academic Innovation: Findings and Recommendations

Abstract

Diversity is a key driver of innovation and a critical component of success on a global scale. Countries that deploy strategies to foster greater inclusion of all inventors in the innovation lifecycle will ultimately be best positioned to maximize their gross domestic product and ensure economic prosperity. The U.S is losing ground because it is not fully engaging a significant portion of the inventive talent pool. According to a 2019 report from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the share of women among all U.S. inventor-patentees is only 12.8%.In an effort to understand factors that encouraged and discouraged academic women’s participation in technology commercialization, a group of Technology Transfer professionals conducted a survey of academic women involved in innovation, invention and/or entrepreneurship. The 168 respondents were from public and private research institutions of varying sizes from all regions of the United States. This paper outlines the key findings from the qualitative and quantitative data around the themes that emerged. It also puts forth a set of recommendations based on the survey feedback, follow-up interviews, and the collective experience of Technology Transfer professionals who work daily with academic innovators. It is our hope that these recommendations will provide valuable insights into concrete actions that can be taken to ensure systemic changes that foster greater engagement of academic women and other under-represented populations in all stages of the innovation lifecycle.