Fred M.B. Amram & Sandra A. Brick Woman Inventor Collection

Throughout American history, women inventors, entrepreneurs, managers, and workers in many fields have made profound impacts on the growth of our nation’s enterprises and on our economic vitality. The history of American enterprise would not be complete without compelling stories of women creating new products, starting new companies, leading organizations, and advocating for workplace equality. Not only have women made landmark contributions to American commerce and innovation, but they have done so while overcoming socially determined gender roles. Over time, however, these contributions have not been fully recognized, appreciated, or integrated into the stories we tell about America’s enterprise history.
The Amram/Brick Women Inventors Collection was created to celebrate woman’s ingenuity and encourage the slowly growing proportion of patents issued to women. In the 19th century about one-half of one percent of patents included the name of a woman. During 1957 that number was only one and one-half percent and by the beginning of the twenty-first century roughly twelve percent of patents were received by women. Fred Amram and Sandra Brick intend this collection, and education programs based on it, to stimulate more people to realize women’s creative potential to the point that half of all U. S. patents are issued to women inventors.