Did you know there is a Women's Health Gap?

I had the opportunity to moderate a panel recently that discussed FemTech. For those unfamiliar with FemTech, which is short for "female technology," it encompasses diagnostics, hardware, software, and products and services that leverage technology to prioritize women's health. FemTech products include menopause management solutions, fertility tracking apps, maternal care products, sexual health solutions, wearables that track biometric data, and more. The revenue market for FemTech varies depending on who reports the numbers. Still, most indicate the market is currently in the range of $50 billion globally and is expected to grow over the next ten years to $100 billion worldwide.

Part of our conversation during the panel discussion focused on the funding landscape for women's health technology. Although I was aware of the chronic underfunding of women's health in general, the panel discussion illuminated the realities behind the statistics, including some discussion about the lack of gender-specific data. The panel noted that access to this data would provide a more complete picture of the disease burden on women, which could be used to support the case for more women-focused research.

A recent report, 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛'𝑠 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ 𝐺𝑎𝑝: 𝐴 $1 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠, by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the McKinsey Health Institute, highlights the stark reality: "…narrowing the women's health gap would allow 3.9 billion women to live healthier, higher-quality lives. It could also allow at least $1 trillion to be pumped into economic productivity annually."

Despite women making up half the population, women's health continues to remain significantly underfunded and understudied in scientific research. Public funding, essential for health science advancements, allocates only a small fraction to women's health-specific research. For instance, as reported in the above report, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest public funder of biomedical research, dedicates just 11% of its budget to women's health. Additionally, the report goes on to note that only 4.5% of the NIH's budget for coronary artery disease research focuses on studies centered on women, even though the year following a heart attack, women experience a 50% higher mortality rate versus men. This disparity is an example of the urgent need for more targeted research and funding to address the unique health challenges faced by women.

Now is the time for stakeholders across the healthcare, technology, and investment sectors to recognize and prioritize the funding and support for women's health initiatives, including FemTech. Let's drive innovation, support groundbreaking research, and invest in the future of women's health to ensure a healthier world for all.