Women inventors have been historically rare in some geographic regions. For example, in the UK, only 33 of 4090 patents (less than 1%) issued between 1617 and 1816 named a female inventor. In the US, in 1954, only 1.5% of patents named a woman, compared with 10.9% in 2002.David Ghere, Fred M. B. Amram (2007). Inventing music education games. British Journal of Music Education 24(1): 55–75 Women's inventions have historically been concentrated in some areas, such as chemistry and education, and rare in others, such as physics, and electrical and mechanical engineering. Some names such as Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace are widely known, many other women have been active inventors and innovators in a wide range of interests and applications.
The following is a list of notable women innovators and inventors displayed by country.
Australia Rose Cumming (1884–1968), innovative interior decoration Sally Dominguez (born 1969), modular rainwater tank Minnie Crabb (1885–1974), braille printing press Myra Juliet Farrell (1878–1957), tailoring devices, fruit picker, folding pram hood Melissa George (born 1976), style snaps Veena Sahajwalla (fl 2010s), green steel Alison Todd (fl 1990s), pathogen detection
Austria Slawa Duldig (1901–1975), folding umbrella Ingeborg Hochmair (born 1953), medical devices, cochlear implants Lise Meitner (1878–1968), radioactivity, nuclear physics Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897-2000), Frankfurt kitchen Helene Winterstein-Kambersky (1900-1966), waterproof mascara
Belgium Guilly d'Herbemont (1888–1980), white cane for blind people Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (1864–1945), chafing dish Christine Van Broeckhoven (1953), treatments for neurodegenerative diseases Maria Clementine Martin (1775–1843), alcoholic herb extract
Brazil Chu Ming Silveira (1941–1997), public telephone
Canada
Suhayya Abu-Hakima (fl 1982), artificial intelligence Margaret Atwood (born 1939), robotic writing with the LongPen Yvonne Brill (1924–2013), propulsion technologies Martha Matilda Harper (1857–1950), hair tonic Catherine McCammon (fl 2000s), spectroscopy-based examination of earth materials Rachel Zimmerman (born 1972), Blissymbol printer
China Joyce Chen (1917–1994), woks Lanying Lin (1918–2003), material engineering Tu Youyou (born 1930), malaria treatment Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (born 1965), brain-science-based learning tools Dan D. Yang (born 1965), learning systems
Costa Rica
Iris Flores (born 1921-2016), awarded U.S. patents for brasserie and fashion innovations.
Denmark
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen (born 1958), ice cores Hanne Nielsen (1829–1903), Havarti cheese Ida Tin (born 1979), menstruation app
Egypt Hypatia (c.350–415), mathematics, astronomy Pandrosion (c.300–360), mathematics
Finland Mimmi Bähr (1844–1923), calligrapher and inventor France
Danièle Aron-Rosa (born 1935), laser-based eye surgery Martine Bertereau (born c.1600), mineralogy Marie Boivin (1773–1841), pelvimeter, vaginal speculum Herminie Cadolle (1845–1926), brassiere Madame Clicquot Ponsardin (1777–1866), Champagne riddling Marie Harel (1761–1844), Camembert cheese Martine Kempf (born 1951), voice activation system Géraldine Le Meur (born 1972), digital innovation Marie Marvingt (1875–1963), metal plane skis Marguerite Perey (1909–1975), francium Joanna Truffaut (fl from 2000), urban Wi-Fi networks Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794–1871), aquaria
Germany
Melitta Bentz (1873–1950), coffee filterWomen inventors (8 October 2021), European Patent Office (accessed 9 May 2022) Bertha Benz (1849–1944), brake linings Caroline Eichler (1808/9–1843), leg prosthesis, hand prosthesis Judith Esser-Mittag (born 1921), applicator-free tampon Marga Faulstich (1915–1998), optical glass Amelia Freund (1824–1887), cooking stove Caroline Herschel (1750-1848), astronomer Sonja de Lennart (born 1920), Capri pants Maria Goeppert Mayer (1906-1972), nuclear physics Ida Noddack (1896–1978), nuclear fission Emmy Noether (1882–1935), algebra, physics Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (born 1942), biochemist Katharina Paulus (1868-1935), collapsible parachute Agnes Pockels (1862-1935), surface science Margarete Steiff (1847–1909), stuffed animals Brigitte Voit (born 1963), polymers
Greece Spéranza Calo-Séailles (1885–1949), "Lap" decorative concrete
Hungary
Mária Telkes (1900–1995), solar energy
India Pratibha Gai (fl from 1974), electron microscopy Munia Ganguli (fl 2010s), drug delivery systems Sylvia Ratnasamy (born 1976), distributed hash table Sheila Sri Prakash (born 1955), prefabricated rotationally moulded inspection chamber
Ireland Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh (fl 2010s), silicone glue
Israel Ruth Arnon (born 1933), multiple sclerosis drug
Italy
Maria Abbracchio (born 1956), pharmacology Catia Bastioli (born 1957), biodegradable plastics Patrizia Caraveo (born 1954), particle physics Teresa Ciceri Castiglioni (1750–1821) Italian inventor, agronomist Maria Cristina Facchini (fl from 1980s), aerosols Elena of Montenegro (1873–1952), signed photographs Maria Montessori (1870–1952), physician and educator Adele Racheli (1897–1992) engineer and co-founder of Milan patent protection office
Japan Teruko Mizushima (1920–1996), time-based currency Katsuko Saruhashi (1920–2007), measurement of carbon-dioxide concentrations in seawaterCarmen Borca-Carrillo (31 March 2022). Five Women Inventors You Didn't Learn About in History Class. Smithsonian (accessed 9 May 2022)
Latvia Marija Šimanska (1922–1995), heterocyclic compounds Lina Stern (1878–1968), blood–brain barrier
Netherlands
Katja Loos (born 1971), enzymatic polymerization Laura J. van 't Veer (born 1957), cancer risk screening Saskia Wieringa (born 1950), gender relations
New Zealand Elizabeth Ann Louisa Mackay (1843–1908), cooking utensils
Nigeria Omowunmi Sadik (born 1964), microelectrode sensing, environmental applications
Poland Marie Curie (1867–1934), radioactivity
Portugal Antonia Ferreira (1811–1896), winemaking
Romania Ana Aslan (1897–1988), ageing treatment
Russia
Anna Pavlova (1881–1931), pointe shoes for ballet Irina Beletskaya (born 1933), organometallic chemistry
Singapore Lin Hsin Hsin (fl 1990s), various IT inventions
Spain Concepción Aleixandre (1862–1952), gynecology Ángela Ruiz Robles (1895–1975), electronic book reader Margarita Salas (1938–2019), DNA amplification
Sweden Maria Christina Bruhn (1732–1808), gunpowder packaging Eva Ekeblad (1724–1786), agronomy Amalia Eriksson (1824–1923), candy stick Simone Giertz (born 1990), robotic devices Iréne Grahn (1945–2013), patented finger joint support for patients with rheumatoid arthritis Hanna Hammarström (1829–1909), telephone wires Ninni Kronberg (1874–1946), powdered milk Laila Ohlgren (1937–2014), mobile telephony Maria Romell (1859-1949), heat-insulated food container and more Petra Wadström (b.1952), inventor of Solvatten
Switzerland Ursula Keller (born 1959), laser technology
United Arab Emirates Reem Al Marzouqi (fl 2000s), car driven without hands
United Kingdom
Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (1864–1927), automatic balancing bed Anna Atkins (1799–1871), photography Hertha Ayrton (1854–1923), electric arc lighting Theresa Berkley (died 1836), Berkley Horse Lauren Bowker (born 1985), colour-change inks Roxey Ann Caplin (1793–1888), corsetry Adelaide Claxton (fl 1860s–1890s), ear caps Eleanor Coade (1733–1821), artificial stoneware Emily Cummins (born 1987), evaporative refrigeration Fiona Fairhurst (fl 2009), swimsuits Christine Foyer (born 1952), plant science Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), chemist Ida Freund (1863–1914), gas measurement Barbara Gilmour (died 1732), cheese making Sarah Guppy (1770–1852), bridge construction, domestic devices Mandy Haberman (born 1956), baby bottles Diane Hart (1926–2002), corsetry Valerie Hunter Gordon (1921–2016), disposable diapers, sanitary towels Phyllis Margaret Tookey Kerridge (1901–1940), glass electrodes Marie Killick (1914–1964), sapphire stylus Helen Lee (researcher) (fl from 1990s), diagnostic kits for infectious disease Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), mathematician Heather Martin (designer) (fl from 2000), interaction design Jane A. McKeating (fl from 1990s), molecular biology Emma Parmee (fl from 1990s), antidiabetic drugs Lucy Rogers (fl from 1990s), animatronic controllers Leslie Scott (born 1955), board games Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990), device for aircraft engines Bridget Elizabeth Talbot (1885–1971), watertight electric torch Asha Peta Thompson (fl 2000s), wearable technology
United States A Berenice Abbott (1898–1991), photography Alice Alldredge (born 1949), marine biology Frances Allen (1932–2020), computer scientist Randi Altschul (born 1960), cellphones, games and toys Susan Amara (fl from 2000), drug discovery Anne Anastasi (1908–2001), psychometrics Betsy Ancker-Johnson (born 1927), plasma physics Beth Anderson (born 1950), music composition Laurie Anderson (born 1947), electronic music Mary Anderson, windscreen wipers Virginia Apgar (1909–1974), health of newborns Frances Arnold (born 1956), enzyme engineering Barbara Askins (born 1939), photographic negative enhancement
B
Tabitha Babbitt (1779–c. 1853), tool making Betty Lou Bailey (1929–2007), exhaust nozzle Ellene Alice Bailey (1853–1897), clothing, household goods Betsey Metcalf Baker (1786–1867), straw bonnets Anna Baldwin (fl 1860s), milk production Alice Pike Barney (1857–1931), mechanical devices Janet Emerson Bashen (born 1957), software Patricia Bath (born 1942), medical devices Maria Beasley (fl 1870s–1890s), barrel hooper, life rafts Ruth Benedict (1887–1948), anthropology Ruth R. Benerito (1916–2013), cotton fabrics Miriam Benjamin (1861–1947), hotel chairs Evelyn Berezin (1925–2018), computerized typewriter Margaret Olofsson Bergman (1872–1948), looms Barbara Beskind (fl 1945–1956), therapeutic devices Patricia Billings (born 1926), Geobond building material Hazel Bishop (1906–1998), lipstick Sara Blakely (born 1971), hosiery Helen Blanchard (1840–1922), sewing machines Joani Blank (1937–2016), vibrators Katharine Burr Blodgett (1898–1979), low-reflectance glass Bessie Blount Griffin (1914–2009), feeding devices, disposable basins Vanna Bonta (1958–2014), flight suit for weightless environments Sarah Boone (1832–1904), ironing boards Shree Bose (born 1994), drugs for treating cancer Charlotte Bridgwood (1861–1929), windshield wipers Louise Brigham (1875–1956), modular furniture design Clarissa Britain (1816–1895), received seven patents Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922–1999), home security systems Deborah Washington Brown (1952–2020), speech recognition Rachel Fuller Brown (1898–1980), antibiotics Mary Brush (fl 1815), corsets
C Ve Elizabeth Cadie, (20th century), heat insulating handle for small home appliances, coffee pot Mary P. Carpenter (1840–1900), sewing machines, mosquito nets Keiana Cavé (born 1998), oil spill disperants Leona Chalmers (fl 1937), menstrual cup Melanie Chartoff (born 1950), water recycling Deanna M. Church (fl from 1990s), human genome Inga Stephens Pratt Clark (1906–1970), scarf Edith Clarke (1883–1959), electrical engineering Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913), dishwasher Lynn Conway (born 1938), computer science Martha Coston (1826–1904), marine signalling Cathy A. Cowan (fl from 1990s), health care cost trends Margaret Crane (fl 1967), home pregnancy test Caresse Crosby (1891–1970), modern bra Rose Cumming (1887–1968), wallpapers Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958), diapers
D Emily Davenport (1810–1862), electric motor Constance Demby (1939–2021), electronic musical instruments Olive Dennis (1885–1957), passenger train equipment Maude Dickinson (c.1866–1933), hygiene products Marion Donovan (1917–1998), disposable diapers Anna Dormitzer (1830–1903), window-cleaning equipment Emily C. Duncan (born 1849), banking calculators
E Tomima Edmark (born 1957), garments designed for online sales Ellen Eglin (born 1849), clothes wringer Gertrude B. Elion (1918–1999), medical research, drugs Jeri Ellsworth (born 1974), computer design