Women in IP: Honoring Women’s History Month
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton
In March, Women’s History Month, we look back into the past and see that women have been striving for hundreds of years to force a “YES” to one ultimate question: can women have their rights – their voice and vote, their work and wage, and their property and profit – as their own?
In honor of Women’s History Month, GIPC is honoring women who harness their right to their intellectual property (IP) to invent, create, and effect change.
In the U.S., female entrepreneurs own more than 11 million businesses that employ about 9 million people. In the U.S., despite only receiving 5% of federal contracts and 5% of conventional loans, female entrepreneurs lead businesses that grow at 1.5 times the rate of competing enterprises.
Behind these numbers are passionate women who work hard to create and innovate. They spend countless hours, incredible resources, and dedicated ingenuity to make ideas realities and to contribute to their communities. They rely on strong IP protections to give them their due respect and reward: to let them own their invention and recoup their investment.
Over the years, women have used IP protections to deliver their next big thing. From the submarine telescope, invisible glass, and groundbreaking software to the retractable dog leash, liquid paper, and disposable diapers, women have been behind some of our favorite products and services. Thanks to these trailblazing women, today’s girls are imagining unlimited potential.
This Women’s History Month, we proudly share the stories of the female pioneers of creativity and innovation and celebrate this truth: with the promise of strong IP protections, girls need only imagine it, and it can be so.
Stay tuned as we feature a new woman innovator each week throughout the month of March. Check out last year’s Women’s History Month content here.
