“While… many of the world’s most important inventions are due to woman, the proportion of feminine inventors is much less than of masculine, which arises from the fact that woman does not possess the same amount of freedom as man. Restricted in education, industrial opportunities, and political power, this is one of many instances where her degradation reacts injuriously upon the race.”
-Matilda Joslyn Gage, 1883
Quoted in Forget About Jack, You Don’t Know Matilda (but you should)
A Bit of History 