Abstract
The gender gap in science and technology has received considerable attention by both researchers and policy makers. In an effort to better understand the quantity, quality, and underlying characteristics of female research efforts, I integrate three existing databases to uncover how female patenting activities differ from men’s in the US biotechnology industry. Data on how much science the patents build upon, the author institutions of that science, and who funded the papers in which the science appears are all examined. In addition, using the NBER Patent Citation Data Files, I propose a possible gender-based life cycle model for patenting activity. The policy implications of my findings are also discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bunker Whittington, K., Smith-Doerr, L. (2005), Gender and commercial science: women’s patenting in the life sciences, Journal of Technology Transfer, 30: 355–370.
Ding, W. W., Murray, F., Stuart, T. (2006), Gender differences in patenting in the academic life sciences, Science, 313: 665–667.
Eaton, S. C. (1999), Surprising opportunities: gender and the structure of work in biotechnology firms, Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 175–188.
Hall, B. Jaffe, A., Trajtenberg, M. (2001), The NBER patent citations data file: lessons, insights and methodological tools, NBER Working Paper, 8498.
Hall, B. Jaffe, A., Trajtenberg, M. (2005), Market value and patent citations, RAND Journal of Economics, 36: 16–38.
McMillan, G. S., Narin, F., Deeds, D. (2000), An analysis of the critical role of public science in innovation: The case of biotechnology, Research Policy, 29: 1–8.
McMillan, G. S., Hamilton, R. (2007), The public science base of us biotechnology: A citation-weighted approach, Scientometrics, 72: 3–10.
Murray, F., Graham, L. (2007), Buying science and selling science: gender differences in the market for commercial science, Industrial and Corporate Change, 16: 657–689.
Naldi, F, Vannini Parenti, I., Scientific and Technological Performance by Gender- A Feasibility Study on Patents and Bibliometric Indicators. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2002.
Naldi, F., Luzi, D., Valente, A., Parenti, H. V. (2004), Scientific and technological performance by gender, In: H. F. Moed et al. (Eds), Handbook of Quantitative Science and Technology Research, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 299–314.
Narin, F., Pinski, G., Gee, H. (1976), Structure of the biomedical literature, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 27: 25–45.
National Science Foundation (2004), Gender Differences in the Careers of Academic Scientists and Engineers, NSF 04-323. (www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/ns04323/pdf/front.pdf)
Pinski, G., Narin, F. (1976), Citation influence for journal aggregates of scientific publications: Theory, with application to the literature of physics, Information Processing and Management, 12: 297–312.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McMillan, G.S. Gender differences in patenting activity: An examination of the US biotechnology industry. Scientometrics 80, 683–691 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-008-2101-0
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-008-2101-0