Title: The Careers of Women Inventors
This paper is a joint work with Mimosa Distefano (London School of Economics), Simon Janssen (Institute for Employment Research), Alice Kügler (Central European University) and Linh T. Tô (Boston University).
Abstract: "Despite significant progress in reducing gender disparities across various professions over the past few decades, substantial and persistent gaps remain within STEM, R&D and especially in innovation. In 2019 the percentage of female inventors in the Germany stood at just 6 percent. We investigate the careers of women inventors in Germany and especially how motherhood affect their career. Using innovative data that links patent records to social security information, our analysis reveals a 50 percent long-term earnings gap for female inventors after having children compared to women inventors without children. This gap is attributable to declines in labor force participation and wage rates. Additionally, there is a 40 percent long-term penalty in overall patent citations."