Put the Power to Invent in Her Hands — A New Campaign from the National Inventors Hall of Fame

NORTH CANTON, Ohio – March 7, 2019 – Innovation is for everyone. That is not only the mission of the National Inventors Hall of Fame^® (NIHF), it is the guiding principle behind its new campaign to close the innovation gender gap.

In NIHF’s “Put the Power to Invent in Her Hands” campaign, the goal is to guide girls to build confidence in their own power to invent, problem solve and persevere, creating a more equitable and innovative world in the process. To do its part to achieve this goal, NIHF seeks “50-50 by 2020” — an even gender balance in its Camp Invention^® program registrations by the summer of 2020.

And recent studies show there is much more work to do to close the innovation gender gap:

• A United States Patent and Trademark Office study — “Progress and Potential: A Profile of Women Inventors on U.S. Patents” (2019) — reported that only 4 percent of U.S. patents name women-only inventors over the past decade.
• An Opportunity Insights study — ”Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation” (2017) — noted that only 18 percent of patented inventors are women, and at the current rate it will take nearly 120 years to reach gender parity.

“We must work actively to dispel the myth of the lone, genius male scientist/entrepreneur,” said Dr. Arlyne Simon, a biochemical engineer, inventor and author. “In the real world, innovation is a team sport. To solve complex problems like climate change and ‘big data’ management, we need teams rich in thought diversity. Simply put, gender diversity increases thought diversity.”

To accelerate progress to close this gap, NIHF’s new initiative is designed to introduce more girls to the invention process, encourage their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and help them unlock their potential, said Jayme Cellitioci, NIHF creativity and innovation strategist.

“For young girls who have had limited access and exposure to invention, we want to help them transition from choosing outfits for their dolls to discovering how to power up their dollhouse,” she explained.

“To become a chemist, you must mix your first ingredients; to become an architect, you must build your first model; to become an environmental scientist, you must first run through the woods; and to become an innovator, you must first have the opportunity to invent,” Cellitioci said. “If we want our girls to know the value of their ideas and their power to change the world, they need to be in the spaces and places where these values are echoed, and they can hold the tools in their hands.”

And innovation- and STEM-based camps such as Camp Invention are a vital way to introduce our female youth to innovators, and careers they can relate to and see themselves in, Cellitioci said.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame is proud that its own representation of girls attending the Camp Invention program (42.4 percent) is on the rise, with 5,000 additional girls registering for camp in 2018. In addition, NIHF is a 65-percent female-employee organization, and it looks forward to the new initiative resulting in more girls gaining access to innovation — further helping to close the innovation gender gap.

“With women comprising half of the world’s population, we need to be raising empowered girls who are ready to design and shape a balanced future,” Cellitioci said. “We cannot underestimate the power of exposure and access to invention and innovation education early and often.”

The time to start is now. More information on the “Put the Power to Invent in Her Hands” campaign is available at invent.org/girl-power.

About the National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is the premier nonprofit organization in America dedicated to recognizing inventors and invention, promoting creativity, and advancing the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Founded in 1973 in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, NIHF is committed to not only honoring the individuals whose inventions have made the world a better place, but to ensuring American ingenuity continues to thrive in the hands of coming generations through its national, hands-on educational programming and collegiate competitions focused on the exploration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate. For more information, visit invent.org. To nominate an inventor for Induction, visit invent.org/nominate.