Overview

New inventions are absolutely vital to a strong nation and a prosperous economy, so it is not surprising that the patent system is one of the oldest parts of the United States government. Anybody can legally patent an invention, even children. However, until very recently, most inventions were patented by men. Where were all the women inventors? The answer has to do with education, beliefs about women, and the nature of the patent itself. Historically, women were usually excluded from scientific and technical education, so they learned fewer technical skills than men. To make matters worse, many people in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries argued that women lacked the ability to solve mechanical problems, and these ideas discouraged women from pursuing patent applications. Perhaps most importantly, women found invention...