As an intellectual property (IP) lawyer for the last 30 years, I've worked with many inventors, authors, creators and other IP owners. Through my work, I have realized that women are often less likely to protect their intellectual property, including not only their inventions, but also their creative works and even trademarks. It has been frustrating and disheartening, frankly, to see women not value their own contributions and work (or, even if they recognize the value, not have the resources to properly protect them—more on that later). To help counter women's underrepresentation in IP protection, I have spent many hours over the years trying to educate others—especially women—on the value and importance of IP to their business and the need to protect it. Many of these women have faced and overcome countless hurdles to achieve their success, yet they do not take the steps they need to protect what they have created or built. Why? And what can we do about it? I certainly do not have all the answers to this problem but identifying that there is an issue is certainly the first step. To be sure, also, like so many areas in which there is gender disparity, the problems—and solutions—do not all rest with women but making sure that women have all the knowledge and tools necessary to advocate for themselves is absolutely essential.