Fewer than 15% of all women in the world are patent holders. As a woman inventor keynote speaker I’m on a mission to encourage more women to invent. When I’ve been asked to speak at conferences the question always comes up about why there aren’t more women inventors. One reason is simply because women aren’t encouraged to invent. It hasn’t always been easy for women. Here are some examples of women inventors who changed the world.
Coffee brewing
As you sip your morning coffee you probably don’t give any thought as to how the actual process of coffee brewing came to be. If it wasn’t for a frustrated housewife in Dresden, Germany, you might have to brew your coffee by wrapping loose coffee grounds in a cloth bag and boiling water around it. Suddenly you have a much better appreciation for Melitta Bentz’s invention.
She knew there had to be a better way, so she cut out some paper from a notebook and stuck it in the bottom of a pot that she had poked full of holes. Then she poured the water over it. This filtered out the bitter taste. It worked and she started manufacturing her “coffeemakers” and selling them at local fairs. They were a hit.
Radium
Most people think of Marie Curie as a scientist, but she was also an inventor, and the only person to win two Noble prizes. She invented a chemical process for extracting radioactive material from ore and she also discovered radium.
Computer compiler
Anyone who has used a personal computer can thank Admiral Grace Murray Hopper for inventing the first computer compiler. This dramatically changed the way programmers wrote software. They no longer had to write time-consuming instructions for each new software package. She developed COBOL, which is the first user-friendly computer software program.
Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992) was an American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral. Born in New York City, she earned her Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University in 1934 – a remarkable achievement for a woman at that time.
She joined the Navy during World War II and was assigned to work on the Harvard Mark I computer. This experience sparked her interest in computing, leading to a career that would span several decades and revolutionize the field. After the war, she continued to work in computing, joining the team developing the UNIVAC I, one of the first commercial computers.
Development of the first compiler
Perhaps Hopper’s most famous contribution was the development of the first compiler, a program that translates human-readable code into machine language. This invention laid the groundwork for modern programming languages. She was also instrumental in the development of COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language), which became a standard programming language for business applications.
Hopper was known for her colorful personality and her ability to explain complex technical concepts in accessible ways. She popularized the term “debugging” for fixing computer glitches, inspired by an actual moth found trapped in a relay of the Harvard Mark II computer. Throughout her career, she advocated for making computing more accessible and user-friendly.
Her contributions to computer science earned her numerous awards and honors, including the National Medal of Technology in 1991. Hopper continued working well into her later years, retiring from the Navy as its oldest serving officer at the age of 79. Her legacy continues to inspire generations of computer scientists and programmers, particularly women in technology.
Paper bags
If you take your lunch to work in a brown paper bag you have Margaret Knight to thank for it. She invented the machine that produced them.
Margaret Knight was an American inventor who made a significant contribution to the paper industry. In 1868, while working at the Columbia Paper Bag Company, Knight invented a machine that could automatically cut, fold, and glue flat-bottomed paper bags. This was a major improvement over the existing V-shaped bags that were less stable and couldn’t stand upright.
Knight’s invention revolutionized the paper bag industry and had a lasting impact on retail and grocery shopping. Her machine could produce 1,000 bags in the time it took a worker to make 40 by hand. This dramatically increased efficiency and made flat-bottomed paper bags widely available and affordable.
Patent infringement
Interestingly, Knight had to fight for her patent rights when Charles Annan, who had seen her machine, tried to patent the design himself. Knight filed a patent interference lawsuit and won, proving that she was the original inventor. She was awarded the patent in 1871, becoming one of the first women to receive a U.S. patent.
I had an issue when a man found my invention in a retail store and contacted me. The first thing he said to me was “Oh, a woman invented this”.
Throughout her lifetime, Knight would go on to receive over 20 patents for various inventions, including a rotary engine, a shoe-cutting machine, and several devices for the textile industry. Her ingenuity and perseverance in the face of gender discrimination make her a notable figure in the history of women inventors.
The Knight bag
The flat-bottomed paper bag, often called the “Knight bag,” remains in use today, over 150 years after its invention. Knight’s creation not only changed how we carry groceries but also paved the way for future innovations in packaging and demonstrated the important contributions women can make in traditionally male-dominated fields.
These women are just a few examples of the countless female inventors who have shaped our world. Their stories remind us of the importance of diversity in innovation and the need to encourage and support women in STEM fields. By recognizing their contributions, we inspire future generations of inventors to dream big and push the boundaries of what’s possible. I always tell women “If I could do it from nothing, so could you!”
These are women whose inventions changed the world. But like my own invention, the wrist water bottle, you don’t have to invent something that changes the world. I’ve been able to make a good living with my invention.
Only 15% of patents belong to women, but the list seems to be growing as women are encouraged to invent. As they say “necessity is the mother of invention” and the world needs more women inventors.