28 April 2008
Women Deserve More Credit for Their Inventions, Author Says
Ethlie Ann Vare discusses ingenious women inventors throughout history
Washington -- What do dishwashers, bullet-proof fiber, ice cream freezers and typewriter correction fluid have in common? They were all invented by women.
Women have been discovering, innovating and inventing throughout history, and it is time to give them the credit they deserve, says author Ethlie Ann Vare. Her 1988 book Mothers of Invention was the first book in America on women inventors, and she has published two more on the subject since.
For the most part, the women responsible for discoveries that affect science, technology and everyday living largely have been forgotten, Vare said in a recent Ask America webchat, sponsored by the State Department. “Chemistry majors [in college] may know about Stephanie Kwolek, who invented Kevlar” -- a material used in body armor such as bullet-proof vests and helmets -- “but the elementary school texts keep going back to default, that inventors are all men. That’s why I keep writing my books.”
“To encourage women and girls to continue seeking answers to the many problems that face us,” Vare added, “it’s vital we demonstrate that women do invent. They always have, and always will.” There are at least 250,000 patents by women in the United States, she said.
In addition to inventions for the home, such as the drip coffee maker and the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, “women hold the patents for new medicines and medical instruments treating everything from cancer to cataracts,” Vare said. In the past two decades, “the majority of inventions by women have been biomedical.” For example, Gertrude Elion’s research led to the first immunosuppressive agent, the first treatment for leukemia and a drug to fight herpes. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1988.
FROM TORPEDO GUIDANCE TO CELL PHONE
Vare took an interest in women inventors when she was working on an article for the music magazine Rock. While writing about the 1960s rock and roll band The Monkees, she discovered that band member Michael Nesmith’s mother, Bette, had invented Liquid Paper, the typewriter correction fluid. Bette Nesmith eventually sold her company for nearly $50 million.
Vare’s discovery prompted her to look at other women whose innovations did not get the recognition they deserved. One surprising example is the screen siren Hedy Lamarr, who together with composer George Anthiel patented technology in 1942 that became the basis for modern mobile telephony. It originally was intended as a radio guidance device for U.S. torpedoes during World War II but proved impractical at the time.
In the 1890s, a young African-American woman, Madam C.J. Walker, née Sarah Breedlove, the daughter of former slaves, concocted a scalp-conditioning and -healing formula to remedy an ailment that caused her to lose her hair. Realizing that there were almost no hair products available for blacks, Walker founded her own business and began selling her creation to black women. Her products earned her millions.
Chemist Stephanie Kwolek’s research at DuPont culminated in the creation of Kevlar, a synthetic material five times stronger than steel that is used in bullet-proof vests, sports equipment, drum heads and fiber optic cable sheathing.
“There is no typical woman inventor,” said Vare. These inventors -- a socialite who patented the bra, an aerospace chemist credited with inventing Scotchguard fabric protector, a Latina engineer whose inventions can be found on the space station -- “can come from any discipline.” Children also can be inventors, she said, citing an 8-year-old who came up with a device for cooking bacon in the microwave “and made her family rich.”
Inventors need persistence, imagination and a willingness to work hard, Vare said. “There’s always a new idea, or a new problem that requires a new solution.”
OUT OF AFRICA
Inventors do not have to come only from economically privileged societies, she pointed out. In fact, “Africa is a perfect place for the new inventor of today. The combination of ‘low tech and high’ -- like cell phones that use solar power. Water purification systems that you can fit in a backpack. New types of transportation that don’t require [a] gas engine. Wind generators that can be made for little money. Africa is the best testing ground for so many ideas!”
Asked about barriers women inventors face in some countries, Vare acknowledged that there often is resistance to change. “I think practical inventing is a great vehicle to introduce change,” she added. “People don’t resist everyday products that make their lives easier. And they don’t much care who invents them, either.”
Vare is working with Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry on an interactive exhibit on women inventors scheduled for 2009. Among the items that may be exhibited, she said, are a cotton gin -- Catherine Littlefield Greene partnered its invention with Eli Whitney -- the disposable diaper, the windshield wiper, the Barbie doll and the Roomba.
“It’s time to give credit where credit is due,” Vare said. “And to prove to young women everywhere that women are -- and always have been -- inventors and creators.”
Transcripts of Vare’s webchats on March 10 and April 2 are available on America.gov.
See also Diversity and Innovation.
