On September 28, 2021, it was announced that Croak would become one of the first two Black women inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
On September 28, 2021, news outlets including the Mercury News reported that Marian Croak would be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, making her one of the very first two Black women ever selected for this honor. The announcement recognized her groundbreaking contributions to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, which fundamentally transformed global communications by enabling voice calls to travel over internet networks rather than traditional telephone lines.
This announcement was historically significant because, despite the National Inventors Hall of Fame having inducted hundreds of individuals since its founding in 1973, representation of Black women among its honorees had been virtually nonexistent. Croak's selection, alongside one other Black woman inventor, signaled a long-overdue acknowledgment of the vital but often overlooked contributions of Black women to American innovation and engineering.
Croak's inclusion was tied to her patents related to VoIP technology, developed during her long tenure at AT&T Bell Labs, which laid essential groundwork for modern internet-based communication systems used by billions of people worldwide, including platforms like Skype, WhatsApp, and Zoom.
The announcement served as a milestone moment, shining a spotlight on the underrepresentation of women of color in STEM recognition and inspiring a new generation of inventors.