5 Inventions You Use Every Day, and the Women You Have to Thank For Them

By: Kathryn Imeli
Associate Attorney

As of two years ago, the number of U.S. patents listing at least one woman inventor made up only 21.9%.[i] Although you might find this number strikingly low, it represents a significant leap in the inclusion and participation of women inventors over the last several decades. In the 1980’s, for example, this statistic was a measly 7%.

Despite the inventorship gender gap, women have proven to be a small but mighty minority in innovation over the course of history. Rosalind Franklin’s confirmation of DNA’s double helix, Vera Rubin’s discovery of “dark matter,” and Ada Lovelace’s notes outlining early computer programming back in 1843 are just a few famous examples of women’s pioneering role in discovery and innovation.

Lest you find these groundbreaking contributions unrelatable (or just Googled “what is dark matter”), you can find the legacy of women innovators all around you in your day-to-day life. In fact, from your first sip of morning coffee to your commute home from work, you have women innovators to thank for many of the daily conveniences you can’t live without.

Melitta Benz – Inventor of the Coffee Filter

When was the last time you got a mouth full of coffee grounds in your last sip of coffee?

Frustrated with the occurrence, which was common at the time, and tired of cleaning coffee grounds from her pot, entrepreneur Melitta Benz set out to find a better way to brew. Punching holes in the bottom of an old pot and placing a piece of blotting paper on top, the paper coffee filter and drip coffee were born. Receiving a German patent in 1908, Benz founded her namesake company, Melitta, which still operates today.

Josephine Cochran – Inventor of the Dishwasher

Chances are that dirty coffee cup of yours eventually finds its way into the dishwasher.

If so, you can thank this socialite from Ashtabula County, Ohio. Coming from a lineage of engineers and innovators, Josephine Cochrane designed the first commercially successful dishwashing machine after her staff had chipped one too many of her fine china when washing. She was awarded a U.S. Patent in 1886 and established a company (now part of KitchenAid) to manufacture and sell her machines, which grew tremendously in household popularity in the 1950’s. Cochrane was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.

Hedy Lamarr – Inventor of Wireless Transmission Technology

After your morning cup of coffee, it’s time to tackle your email inbox and get to work.

Film star and Austrian emigrant Hedy Lamarr teamed up with composer, George Antheil, to develop a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes during World War II. Their system used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology, the principles of which are incorporated into Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS technologies we use today. Lamarr and Antheil received a U.S. patent for their invention in 1942 and were inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 2014.

Shirley Ann Jackson – Inventor of Caller ID and Call-Waiting

Is that a telemarketer, or your boss calling?

Interested in the sciences from a young age, Shirley Ann Jackson became the first African American woman to earn a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973.  Dr. Jackson is to thank for a number of indispensable patented telephone features we use today, including call waiting and caller ID. Acquiring an impressive and prestigious resume over the course of her career, Dr. Jackson currently serves as president at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Mary Anderson – Inventor of Windshield Wipers

A drizzle on your commute home is of little concern, thanks to this woman.

Riding in a streetcar one snowy day in New York City, Mary Anderson observed that her driver had to get out and clean off the windshield every couple of minutes. Finding this incredibly inconvenient, Anderson devised a blade to wipe off a windshield that was operable by a handle inside the vehicle. Despite obtaining a U.S. patent for her invention in 1903, her windshield cleaning device didn’t take off until after her patent expired. Nonetheless, we know who to thank for this feature, now commonplace on vehicles today.

So, next time you pour yourself a hot cup of coffee or decline a call from an “unknown number,” give a nod of tribute to the women innovators throughout history that have shaped our world in ways both big and small.

And here’s to seeing that 21.9% grow!

[1] https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/economic-research/publications/reports/progress-potential