To understand why America’s lead in technology and innovation is eroding, look at China’s investment in women inventors

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In the race for global technology leadership, China understands that it needs more inventors to compete with the United States and has been working systematically to expand its capacity to innovate. That’s why China is eating America’s lunch on a critical measure of technological prowess: women inventors.

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A new study by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of international patent applications has found that from 2001 to 2005 and 2016 to 2020, China increased its inventories capacity at nearly double the rate of 42% of the US to China vs. 22% in US To continue to outpace China in cutting-edge technologies so that, as President Biden promised in his State of the Union, they won’t be used against us, the US must access all available talent by changing the culture around the invention and expanding their pipeline of inventors.

Our elected officials already know the risks of letting other countries innovate us. In a rare and powerful display of bipartisanship, Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act last summer to support U.S. innovation in next-generation technologies like artificial intelligence, clean energy, 5G, and other advanced technologies for ensure that American innovators can keep pace with China by not only maintaining American leadership in these areas, but also inventing the next game-changing technologies.

The WIPO study shows that the United States lags behind China and much of the world in our efforts to fully mobilize our inventive talent. From 2016 to 2020, the United States ranked only 13th, well below the global average based on the share of patents that includes women. China ranked fourth, behind Colombia, Spain and Egypt.

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Globally, the WIPO report found that only one in eight inventors listed in a patent was a woman, and only 4% of international patents covered inventions by all-female inventors or teams. These figures portray not only a massive global underutilization of talent, but also sustained gender bias in innovative fields around the world.

According to the WIPO study, global patent filings could potentially reach gender parity in about four decades. That already disappointing pace could be slowed even further by crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced more female scientists than men out of the lab to care for their families.

Invention plays a central role in economic growth and job creation. The strength of a country’s patent protections is a strong predictor of its commitment to the rule of law and its ability to provide incentives for innovation. In the United States, where patent rights are enshrined in the Constitution, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has estimated that intellectual property-intensive industries account for more than 40% of US economic activity and support 63 million jobs44% of the U.S. workforce .

The shortage of US women among named patent inventors can be remedied. In his first two years in office, President Biden spearheaded a renaissance of Made in America. We must now ensure that everyone has the opportunity to invent in America. New laws, policies and private sector practices can expand access to education, mentoring and careers in science and technology: for example, by increasing access and funding for research and legal aid to patent inventions , improving the availability of childcare and family and sick leave, and making sure university and private sector workplaces are welcoming to all.

The need for change is as much about economic and technological competitiveness as it is about equality and the righting of historical wrongs. A number of studies have shown the more diverse a team of inventors is, the more creative and innovative their output is.

The USPTO’s Office of the Chief Economist released a report last October, calling the persistent underrepresentation of women in patenting a drag on American innovation and prosperity, and citing projections for a significant increase in economic output if women were to patent. at the same rate as men. Gender diversity stimulates the creative process in essential ways: Women’s experiences and perspectives help inform, and thereby improve, the quantity and quality of innovation, the report notes.

Government, educational institutions and the private sector must promote broad participation in inventions and patents to ensure that women, people of color and other historically underrepresented groups have the opportunity to contribute fully to the innovation economy.

The race for global innovation has begun and the stakes are higher than ever. America can continue to lead, but only if we harness the power of all our talents to maximize our inventive potential.

Holly Fechner is the executive director of Invent Together, an alliance of universities, nonprofits, businesses and other stakeholders committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to invent

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