What would the world look like if there was more diversity and inclusion in inventing? Over the past few years, academic research has identified significant disparities in the rate at which people obtain patents. Women (especially African American and Hispanic women), people of color, and individuals from lower income families obtain patents much less often than their counterparts.
My eyes were opened to the importance of diversity and inclusion when I became an AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador last year.
The program firmly believe that diversity of backgrounds, abilities, race, gender, and age is essential to forging the best inventions, which I wholeheartedly agree. Simply put: To ensure our world is as inclusive as possible, everyone needs to be involved in creating the inventions that move us forward.
Below, a few of my fellow 2018-2019 invention ambassadors touch on why diversity and inclusiveness in invention is so vital to them.
Jason Grieves
Jason Grieves is a senior program manager with Microsoft. During his 10 years with the company, Grieves has used his passion for supporting people with disabilities by developing accessible technologies for those with visual and mobility impairments. Being legally blind himself, he understands the challenges that people with disabilities encounter with technology on a regular basis.
How does Microsoft make sure they’re designing inclusively?
“One of the things that I’m really passionate about, is thinking about just what it means to be inclusive. One thing that I love at Microsoft is something called Inclusive Design.
We have fallen into these traps at Microsoft. We felt we had a design for everyone. Everyone is using Windows… Everyone is using Office… so it has to work for everyone.
However, what we’re seeing, is that sometimes when you start to design for everyone, you end up designing for no one. So, inclusive design actually starts to think about: how do we flip that around? At Microsoft, we now have a philosophy and a principle around designing for one, and then extending to many.”
What is a challenge that inventors need to overcome?
“One of the things I learned early on at Microsoft, is we all have unconscious bias.
For me as a program manager, I can fall into the trap of surrounding myself with people that look like me, that act like me. When you do that, you fall into this trap of building just for yourself, or building for the people that look like you. So, the way that Microsoft is working to get out of that unconscious bias is in building diverse teams.
Ten years ago, our accessibility team didn’t really have any people with disabilities on it. Now, we’ve got a team where we have people that learn differently. People with visual impairments. People in wheelchairs. Drawing on all this insight, when we go and design products, it allows us to really innovate.”
Rachel Walker Ph.D. RN
Rachel Walker is a nurse and assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst College of Nursing. Her experiences include time spent as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, a rural emergency medical and disaster relief worker, and an oncology nurse. She is the first nurse to become an AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador.
What is your philosophy to invention?
“The nurses I work with have a philosophy: Nothing about us, without us. People who’ve experienced health challenges or who have an issue, we’re designing for them and they are part of the team. Our patients, the people we are helping, are part of the team. They’ll be included from the start. We’re not just thinking about how we should be solving problems, but what problems should we be solving in the first place.
An example is in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico had trouble getting access to IV fluids. It’s not the only place in the world. I’ve worked in West Africa and Haiti, and some other areas, where you have a hard time getting supplies. In these places we’ve run out of IV fluids. People have lost their lives when there was absolutely no reason for that to happen. It’s just saltwater. So, we’ve been working with engineers and chemists to build a portable, self-contained system for generating critical IV fluids at the point of care.
The lesson that my Puerto Rican colleagues taught me was, we may invent a lot of things, a lot of solutions. But if your solution doesn’t work in a tent hospital, or when the power’s been knocked out post-hurricane, then you haven’t really solved the problem. You’ve just solved it for some people.”
Don McPherson
Don McPherson is the chief science officer, cofounder and inventor for EnChroma, a company focused on helping people with color-blindness see colors. He has produced glasses, contact lenses and is currently trying to insert his glass technology into light bulbs. Since starting his company, Don has chosen to focus on the issue of color blindness in children, and its role in learning.
Why do you believe diversity is important?
“Back in 2008, everybody was developing an app for a phone. If you think about, it’s probably one of the most egalitarian things you can do. Who’s inventing it? Is it a woman, a child, a person of color? Do they live here? Do they live overseas? You have no idea.The more diversity you have of opinion, the closer you get to the correct answer. You can’t have any bullies. In other words, you can’t have somebody who is a self-proclaimed expert who stifles discussion. In essence, that should be the model. It should be the model for businesses. It should be how government agencies work. It’s a beautiful idea.”
I’m lucky to mentor and advise inventors from all over the world for a living. The other day, I spoke with a mine inspector from Kentucky who had licensed his idea using only his cell phone. Last week, I got up early to attend a Skype meeting with a team of Serbian college students who are currently negotiating with one of the largest packaged goods companies in the world… from their dorm room.
And as for me? I became an entrepreneur in part because of my severe dyslexia, a learning disability in which I have difficulty recognizing the different sounds that alphabet letters make. When I decided to invent things for a living, I hadn’t been diagnosed; I was just sure no one would ever hire me. The 10-step process I invented for licensing ideas is a direct result of my unique lived experience.
This I know for sure: Anyone, anywhere can be an inventor.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com.
