| Abstract: |
People and Skills is the first pillar in the Government of Canada’s Innovation
and Skills Plan, and an important person in the innovation process is the
inventor. Despite this, little is known about Canadian inventors. This paper
provides A profile of women inventors in Canada and compares them with men
inventors, using data on patent applications from the Canadian Intellectual
Property Office, linked to the Canadian Employer–Employee Dynamics Database
from 2005 to 2019. The study finds that, while Canadian men inventors who
patent in Canada outnumber women, the number of women inventors grew at a
faster pace over the period examined. Women inventors are more likely to be
younger, a higher proportion of them are immigrants and they are more likely
to “co-patent, ” compared with men inventors. This paper also finds
differences in employment trajectories between men and women inventors. Women
inventors are more heavily concentrated in large businesses, and a higher
proportion work in professional, scientific and technical services. In
addition, women inventors are more likely to be owners of unincorporated
businesses, while men inventors are more likely to be owners of incorporated
businesses. Finally, men inventors are slightly more likely to be repeat
inventors, that is, to submit more than one patent application over time. |