Female Entrepreneurs are Building Lifechanging Businesses. They Need Intellectual Property Protections to Do it.

As a woman who has spent her career as a serial entrepreneur and fighter for women entrepreneurs, I was appalled to read a recent letter from 100 members of Congress calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to take action that would gut intellectual property protections at the core of the American innovation ecosystem.Even as the advances of women have shattered glass ceilings throughout our society and economy, the stubborn legacy of male-dominated entrepreneurial culture has been a tough nut to crack.

It may be hard to believe, but venture capital financing for women-owned startups peaked at 2.8% of total venture funding in 2019 and has actually declined to 2.3% since then.

It will take historians decades to untangle all the reasons underlying this persistently gross inequity. But as a society, we should agree that moving forward requires extending the opportunities this ecosystem offers in full to women entrepreneurs — not undermining opportunity for everyone.