The Future of Female is FemTech
To all my fellow women out there, I think we can all agree that going to the doctor can sometimes be a pain in the uterus. From being told that all of our problems are due to stress, to the blanket size list of side effects that comes in every contraceptive pill box, traditional medicine is not made with women in mind. Thankfully, some incredible startups are trying to change this by giving back women's bodily autonomy in the healthcare sector. Enter to the stage… the realm of FemTech.
What is FemTech?
In short, FemTech is any medical technology that solves a medical issue relating to the biological female organs. This is largely based around the uterus and abdominal area, but can also include issues found in the breasts such as breast cancer.
The term FemTech was coined in 2012 by Ida Tin when she founded Clue, a period tracking app. While leading motorcycle tours across the world (cool right?), Ida recognised a need for female orientated healthcare that put the power back in women’s hands. This conceptualisation came at a crucial time for women's health, as many were already starting the turn away from modern medicine. A common theme amongst FemTech startup stories is a personal negative experience with traditional media that then caused the individual to turn to alternative methods and the wellness industry for answers. And while Gwyneth Paltrow's vagina candle isn’t classed as FemTech, the wellness industries focus on hormones and the female cycle has inspired many of the industries most disrupting inventions.
Since its conception, the realm of FemTech has seen steady growth as more female entrepreneurs have decided to create solutions to problems traditional healthcare refuses to see. As a result of these startups and a growth in investment buzz, the FemTech industry is estimated to be worth $50 million by 2025.
Why is FemTech important?
FemTech is made by women for women, something that is very rare within the healthcare system. Historically, traditional medicine is based around the male body and often does not take into account female specific factors such as hormones and the menstrual cycle. In fact, women were not required to be involved in US clinical trials until 1993 and so the majority of drug doses, symptoms for diagnosis, and health measurements are based on male biology.
On top of this, female orientated health conditions are often swept under the rug leaving women in unnecessary pain and without viable solutions. Before the conception of FemTech, conditions such as PCOS, infertility, and menopause were viewed as uncomfortable but unavoidable factors involved in being a woman, resulting in a distinct lack of research into solving them.
That’s why FemTech is important. Women deserve respect and answers to their conditions in the same way that men do, and that unfortunately has not been the case in modern medicine.
What are the main aims of FemTech?
So we’ve established what FemTech is and why it’s important, now it’s time to talk about its aims. Afterall, FemTech is by nature an industry disrupter so we need to know what exactly that looks like…
Giving back female bodily autonomy: One of the main aims of FemTech is to give women back the power over their health. From fertility brands such as Bea Fertility who are reimagining fertilisation outside of the usual intrusive treatments, to Inne, the worlds first-at home hormone monitoring system that givens women in depth information about their hormones from the comfort of their living room, FemTech entrepreneurs are looking to give women the freedom to understand and take charge of their health.
Improving female specific diagnoses: as a result of medicine's male orientated tendencies, many women find it difficult to receive an accurate diagnosis. FemTech brand Panakeia uses a patient-led approach to give instrument free cancer diagnoses to their patients. Their latest approach to breast cancer has led to the development of clinical products that will enable biomarker profiling across various healthcare issues.
Reducing stigmatisation: in order to give women better care, there is still a significant cultural hill to climb to reduce the stigmatisation of female orientated care. Thankfully organisations such as Syrona Health are giving women safe space to speak about previously shunned issues such as PCOS and menopause.
Delivering personalised, culturally sensitive care: in order to create better healthcare for women, it must encompass the experience of ALL women, and that means giving personalised care. Startups such as Vagiplug give personalised care inclusive to women of colour, a group often marginalised and under-represented in traditional medicine.
Improve care delivery: the female body has many ways to give the needed biological markers for various medical diagnoses, but they are often not explored in modern medicine leading to a mismatch in care delivery. The female entrepreneurs behind Theblood and FemXX are striving to change that by creating new avenues for care delivery within the realm of menstruation.
Next steps in FemTech
Femtech is the market disruptor many women have been waiting for within the healthcare industry, and we have hope that its estimated growth means that its innovations will continue to spread. As a young woman myself, it makes me feel hopeful for my future health but I am also aware that we must keep the conversation alive in order to make that growth happen. So, let’s keep talking!
