Page 76 - T-I JOURNAL19 4

724 DEMIRALP ET AL.

in favor of more egalitarian practices among acade- and on-the-job training and continuing through
micians, in order to better accommodate junior and business formation and operation, that affect com-
mid-level women scientists in commercially-oriented mercialization among women. Individually, each
work distributions (9). stage represents a critical opportunity for leverag-
ing the potential of women and girls in STEM. Taken
Enabling Future Research on Women in STEM together, this pipeline demonstrates the considerable
The recent increase in scientific and policy breadth of the challenge of decreasing the commer-
resources directed at improving women’s engagement cialization gap.
in STEM further underscores the need for appropriate There is still a need for further research to better
data to understand the commercialization and entre- understand the determinants of commercialization
preneurial outcomes of women in STEM. Specifically, and why they may have differential effects on women
improvements in data collected may better detail the and minority entrepreneurs in STEM. An immedi-
factors that contribute to the gender gap in commer- ate limitation in this research effort is the lack of data
cialization and track progress towards equity (33). sources that allow researchers to simultaneously iden-
To date, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office does tify entrepreneur and business characteristics and
not publicly share demographic information on pat- measure the quality and quantity of their commercial-
ent applicants and granted patents, a practice that is ization outcomes. Therefore, enhancing data sources
also common among university technology transfer to permit rigorous empirical analyses of commer-
offices (27). Furthermore, microdata that has detailed cialization outcomes is an important step for future
information on not only outputs related to intellec- research that is needed to inform policy-making.
tual property (e.g., patents, trademarks, etc.) but also Future research, empowered by improved data for
information on the extent to which underlying tech- analysis, should investigate the relative roles that var-
nology enters the market would lead to research that ious internal and external factors play in explaining
can provide more direct evidence on commercial commercialization outcomes among women entre-
activity and better inform policy. preneurs. A better understanding of the determinants
influencing women’s entrepreneurial choices and
CONCLUSIONS commercialization outcomes is key for the devel-
This report presents an examination of women’s opment of effective and targeted policies that will
entrepreneurship and commercialization in STEM allow the U.S. economy to realize the full potential
through descriptive data analysis and literature of STEM fields.
review. Its findings highlight differences between
men and women entrepreneurs in STEM fields as ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
well as differences between women entrepreneurs We would like to thank Dolores Rowen (Research
in STEM and non-STEM fields in terms of owner Manager, National Women’s Business Council
and business characteristics. These differences sug- (NWBC)), Esther Morales (Executive Director,
gest that women entrepreneurs in STEM fields may NWBC), and Dr. Teresa Nelson (Councilmember,
face unique challenges or may experience the effects NWBC) for their helpful comments on earlier drafts
of certain challenges disproportionately relative to of this report. We would also like to thank Professors
men. Further, minority women may face steeper and Al Link (University of North Carolina Greensboro)
somewhat different challenges to pursuing careers and Maryann Feldman (University of North Carolina
and commercial success in STEM fields than other Chapel Hill) for their valuable feedback and com-
women. ments. We are grateful to Annie Rorem (Senior
Prior research has identified external factors in Research Manager, NWBC) for her valuable insight
each career stage, starting with STEM education and feedback throughout the project.