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WOMEN INNOVATOR PROGRAMS IN ACADEMIA 695

patent filings (Figure 6A) and PCT or non-provi- related to technology transfer activities and to attempt
sional patent applications (Figure 6B) had decreased to influence the status quo of women innovators by
since the inception of WIT in 2014. In contrast, the implementing a program to embolden, empower, and
percentage of women inventors listed on patent filings engage female innovators and, in particular, female
had increased since the inception of WIT for both faculty members in technology transfer activities.
provisional patent filings and conversion filings (i.e., The OTM at WUSTL initiated the WIT program
PCT and non-provisional patent applications) (Figure in 2014 to address and attempt to change the under-
6A and 6B). These data suggest that female faculty lying factors, as effectively summarized by IWPR
members are now represented on more filed patent (19), that keep women from disclosing, patenting,
applications and that teams of inventors have become and engaging in the commercialization of their aca-
increasingly diversified since the inception of WIT. demic studies. The OTM believed that a program
targeting women innovators could be designed, very
DISCUSSION specifically, to mitigate the factors that perpetuate
In today’s rapidly changing world—and with a under-representation of women if such a program
global need to solve the world’s most pressing prob- directly addressed factors such as inviting women
lems, ranging from sustainability, medical issues, to participate in academic technology transfer and
unemployment, and social disparities—the world is cultivating both internal and external networks that
in need of innovators and entrepreneurs. Innovators enable commercialization for program participants.
have the potential to create new services, provide new Therefore, the OTM designed its WIT program with
jobs, change the status quo, transform communities, the following aspects: (a) an invitation to participate
and construct a stronger economy. The nation is expe- in technology transfer and commercialization of a
riencing a renewed interest in entrepreneurship, and participant’s academic work; (b) an educational com-
many universities look to start-up companies as an ponent that met investigators at their current level of
option to spin technology from a university lab into understanding in the technology transfer lifecycle;
early stages of commercial development because of (c) an internal network of female peers who engage
the usual nascent stage at which the work emerges in technology transfer activities; and (d) an exter-
from the academic laboratory. In parallel, the overall nal network of community individuals and peers at
activities associated with TTOs have been increasing. other institutions who could serve as potential men-
In fact, as a whole, TTOs are receiving more invention tors, facilitators, or generally points of engagement
disclosures, filing more patents, and licensing to more along the commercialization continuum. While this
start-up companies than ever before (22). WUSTL paper is not a detail of the program, the outcomes and
mirrors the national innovation and entrepreneurship results shared in this paper demonstrate the climate
trend, as measured by increased technology transfer of female engagement in both pre- and post-WIT
statistics (23), including the number of university programming and the changes in how women par-
start-up companies and national ranking of its entre- ticipated in technology transfer activities as a result
preneurship center (24). of the program’s initiatives.
Despite this national focus and amplification in In order to determine whether the WIT program
technology transfer, the gender disparity observed had a positive impact on gender participation in
in technology transfer activities has remained at activities relating to technology transfer, data span-
unchanging levels since the earliest reports on aca- ning the three-year period prior to implementing
demic faculty participation in submitting invention the WIT program (2011-2013) and three years into
disclosures and filing patents (11,12,15,17-20). In the WIT program (2014-2016) was assessed. The
fact, historically, gender has not been used to stratify general findings suggest that it is possible to stim-
technology transfer activities by TTOs, and only ulate a minority population, in this case women, to
recently has there been advocacy to TTOs around the facilitate engagement in technology transfer activities.
importance of tracking gender (25). WUSTL is one of Evaluation of the data from pre-WIT and post-WIT
the first universities in the country to track gender as years indicated that women innovators increased in