Publication Date
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Kelli D. Zaytoun (Committee Chair), Zdravka K. Todorova (Committee Member), Nancy G. Garner (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Humanities (MHum)
Abstract
Steering women toward educational paths and careers in fields of invention would seem, in theory, to be the obvious solution to closing the gap between the number of men and women filing for and being granted invention patents. Billions of dollars have been invested at the federal, state, and local levels to spur interest and competency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning, but gender disparity in innovation workplaces persists. Studies indicate that, in addition to the educational barriers that can be and have been addressed legislatively, social and cultural influences affect outcomes for career women, as well as young women considering STEM degree programs. Evidence suggests that as more male students are drawn to STEM fields as a result of these same educational initiatives, the inventive patent ownership gender gap will widen. By considering the historical treatment of women with regard to intellect, employment, and property ownership, an enormity of scope emerges that, in turn, creates questions about the efficacy of current suggested strategies to narrow the gap.
Page Count
89
Department or Program
Humanities
Year Degree Awarded
2019
Copyright
Copyright 2019, some rights reserved. My ETD may be copied and distributed only for non-commercial purposes and may not be modified. All use must give me credit as the original author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
