INCREASING INVENTOR DIVERSITY: U.S. PUBLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Research has found that women, people of color, and individuals with lower incomes patent inventions at significantly lower rates than their representation in the population. Less than 13 percent of all inventors listed on U.S. patents are women, Black individuals are three times less likely to become inventors than white individuals, and children in families in the top one percent of income are 10 times more likely to patent in their lifetimes than children in the entire bottom half of family income. Research has also found that increasing participation in invention and patenting by under-represented groups would increase annual U.S. gross domestic product by up to $1 trillion, quadruple the number of American inventors, and result in new and different inventions. Public policy can promote equity, inclusion, and diversity in inventing and patenting. In a 2018 article in this journal, we discussed the existing research on disparities in invention and patenting and the role of the U.S. government, educational institutions, and private industry in ensuring women, people of color, and individuals with lower incomes can participate fully in the innovation economy. This article updates and expands on that article by providing specific public policy recommendations to increase equity, inclusion, and diversity in invention and patenting. These recommendations include improving data collection and research to measure and advance equity in patenting; supporting historically under-represented inventors by providing education, legal, and technical assistance and promoting workplace equity; and spotlighting historically under-represented inventors and promoting diversity among patent counsel and patent examiners.