Mothers of Invention?

Gender and motherhood dynamics feature prominently in research that examines professional workplace inequities. The rise of patenting as an available form of academic productivity presents a fruitful site to revisit these in the science profession and to compare academic and industrial science contexts. I predict patenting involvement across disciplines, sectors, and time. Contrary to findings regarding publishing, academic mothers suffer a motherhood penalty not experienced by childless women or mothers in industry. Controls for past involvement remove the disparity, and a sex gap in industry. Work/family balance, sector-level incentives, and status expectations may explain these results, providing implications for future research on gender, motherhood, and work.