Recent research has highlighted that patents from majority-female inventor teams receive significantly fewer citations—up to 22% less—than those from majority-male teams. Citations play a key role in measuring the impact and value of patents, making this gap significant not only for the inventors themselves but also for the broader innovation landscape. 

Why are female inventors' patents cited less frequently, and how does this imbalance affect their future development and the total capacity for innovation?

Our guest today is Gauri Subramani, an assistant professor in Lehigh University's Department of Management. Gauri's research focuses on gender and resource disparity in innovation, using data-driven methods to identify gaps and investigate potential remedies. 

Prior to joining academia, Gauri worked as a consultant and political appointee in the Office of Economic Policy at the United States Department of Treasury under the Obama administration. Her research spans the United States patent system and digital platforms, where she investigates the impact of representation on innovation and entrepreneurship.

One of the major topics we explore is the persisting gender discrepancy in patent citations, even after controlling for a variety of variables. We investigate whether this disparity is predominantly caused by applicant-added citations rather than examiner-added citations. Our discussion delves into the tendency of majority-male teams to regularly cite patents from other majority-male teams, as well as how patents from majority-female teams are less likely to be further developed. 

We also look at how women's patent undercitation affects businesses that rely significantly on cumulative innovation, such healthcare and technology. Finally, our study contributes significantly to the continuing discussion about diversity, inclusion, and innovation in the field of patenting and intellectual property.

In This Episode:

[03:08] Patent citations are an established way by which researchers really measure the impact and quality of an invention. Gauri wanted to explore the gap in citations between female and male inventors. 

[04:04] Female inventor teams received up to 22% fewer citations than male counterparts. Why does this citation gap exist?

[05:21] After implementing multiple controls in the study there's a 4% gap that they can't answer for.

[05:48] They've discovered that female inventors' patents are less likely to be cited and appear to be less likely to be further developed by subsequent inventions.

[06:59] This could mean that female inventor patents are less likely to be cited because they're less likely to be built upon. It's also possible that female patents could be perceived as less impactful.

[08:57] Citations are primarily added to patents by applicants or examiners.

[10:17] The gender gap seems to be driven entirely by applicant-added citations.

[11:22] Gender in-group preference appears to be a factor in patent citations.

[14:19] Technology areas with more female inventors grow more slowly. Female inventors' patents are also more distinct.

[15:26] We discuss how gender affects access to social networks that facilitate knowledge diffusion in the patent system.

[17:13] This gap could translate into other gaps and make less incentive for females to develop their inventions.

[19:08] Being less likely to build on inventions by female inventors exasperates several underlying problems especially in the healthcare and technology fields.

[20:39] There can be a desire to cite as little as possible on patent citations.

[22:23] Applicants and tech transfer offices should proactively think about the processes by which they search for and add citations. 

[24:32] The Council for Inclusive Innovation is a signal of the USPTO's commitment to increasing diversity in patenting.

Resources: 

Gauri Subramani

Gauri Subramani Lehigh University

Gauri Subramani LinkedIn

Untapped Potential: Investigating Gender Disparities in Patent Citations

Council for Inclusive Innovation