Black women less likely to be granted patents, report shows

Despite being the leading growth of new female-owned businesses over the last 20 years, women of color – specifically Black and Hispanic women – are less likely to be granted a U.S patent than White women and men. This information comes from a new study from the Institute of Women’s Policy Research.

Overall, less than 19 percent of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had a female inventor listed, according to the most recent data, compiled in 2015.

The report found that “despite being less likely to hold intellectual property rights than men, women-owned businesses still report actively engaging in innovative activities and generally do so at rates at least as high as men-owned business.”

“Innovation is how we come up with solutions to the most pressing challenges that are facing our society today,” said Jessica Milli, one of the report’s co-authors. Without input from all sexes and ethnic groups, some issues get overlooked and “you get solutions that only work for a small portion of the population.”

Firms owned by women grew from 847,000 to 1.1 million between 1997 and 2015, the study found. Moreover, the number of businesses owned by minority women accounted for more than two-thirds of the overall growth in that period, according to the study.