The AAMC Aug. 27 joined the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Association of University Technology Managers, and the Council on Governmental Relations in issuing a statement supporting proposed legislation to identify ways to improve the representation of women and minorities in the ranks of the nation’s inventors.
The Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS Act, H.R. 6390) was introduced July 16 by Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) and currently includes nine bipartisan co-sponsors. Specifically, the bill would require the Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Department of Commerce and the Patent and Trademark Office, to conduct a study and develop legislative recommendations to increase the number of women and individuals from socially and economically disadvantaged groups who apply for and obtain patents and promote the participation of women and minorities in entrepreneurship activities. It also would require a report and recommendations to be delivered to Congress within six months of enactment.
In the statement, the five higher education associations note that “we strongly support finding ways to increase the participation of women and underrepresented populations in innovation and invention,” and hope that the study “will develop new ways that government can help foster greater diversity and inclusion within the innovation ecosystem.”