March marks Women's History Month and International Women's Day (IWD), which is held annually on 8 March. The theme of this year's IWD is For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment, acknowledging the accomplishments and challenges faced by women and girls across the world, including access to appropriate, timely healthcare. The campaign is also a call to action, outlining ways to advance women's rights and gender equality.
To mark the initiative, Katya Masconi-Yule, Senior Programme Manager for the Accelerating FemTech programme, examines the potential of FemTech to address the gender health gap. She also highlights the vital role of co-production to build a FemTech landscape that prioritises inclusivity, data transparency and patient involvement.
In the UK, women consistently spend more of their lives in ill health or disability compared to men, contributing to the country’s position of having the largest gender health gap in the G20 and ranking twelfth globally for disparities in women's health. Part of the difficulty in addressing these issues lie in the various layers that make up challenges within women’s health, including different socio-economic, ethnic and cultural factors.
The Women’s Health Strategy for England, introduced in 2022, offers a roadmap for improvement, but systemic challenges remain — particularly in health outcomes for women from the global majority. For instance, black women are four times likely to die within six weeks of giving birth, while Asian women are nearly twice as likely to die as compared to white women. The affluence of communities in which women live in play a part as well; life expectancy for women ranges from less than two years to 12 years or more across the country.
As healthcare continues to progress digitally, there is growing hope that artificial technology (AI) and healthtech can reduce these disparities in women’s health. The healthcare system must take full advantage of emerging technologies like AI and bioprinting to bridge the gaps in care and equity. The question isn’t just about what technology can do, but how it is applied.
FemTech Solutions
FemTech has ability to empower women in learning about and managing their own health. Devices such as Plexaa’s BLOOM43 support wound healing outcomes for patients undergoing breast cancer surgery, while P.Happi’s biome-protective products address women’s intimate health concerns.
Other examples include AI-powered apps like Bloume, which helps women with chronic pelvic pain, and software solutions such as IBEX Innovations’s IBEX Bone Health can be integrated into routine breast cancer screening programmes for the early detection and diagnosis of osteoporosis.
In the case of Lorna Maclean, founder of Demetria, her personal experience with endometriosis helped her realise that navigating the healthcare system was a common struggle for many women. After enduring 15 years of misdiagnosis and running The Endometriosis Foundation, Maclean recognised the power of technology in addressing systemic challenges, starting Demetria to reduce endometriosis diagnosis times using AI-enhanced ultrasound technology.
The Data Challenge
One of the biggest challenges in applying these to women’s health is that the technology is only as good as the data it is built on. Though digital innovations can provide faster, more accurate diagnoses, data sets often skew toward women from white and affluent backgrounds. Studies on gynaecological conditions, for example, do not often report on ethnicity. Though venture capitalist (VC) backed healthtech solutions have attracted investment, these often remain behind paywalls for users, restricting access to a broader population. These biases in data could widen healthcare inequalities if not addressed.
In the world of healthtech, data is a valuable currency. For innovators, data provides insights to improve healthcare solutions, but maintaining user anonymity should be paramount. The growing commercialisation of women’s health also means that data is often at risk of being monetised or shared without consent, calling data ownership and privacy into concern. Ideally, innovations in women’s health such as apps should educate women, protect their data, and be co-designed with their input.
Amber Vodegel, founder and former owner of Health and Parenting Ltd, is now developing 28X, an innovative menstrual health app designed to serve marginalised populations globally. The app leverages on-device AI and specialized menstrual algorithms to provide culturally sensitive, accessible, and personalised health content. Still in its development phase, 28X is innovating digital health by prioritising data privacy, implementing strategies to localise content, and aligning with public health initiatives to ensure widespread impact, ultimately setting a new standard for inclusive and ethical healthtech solutions.
Navigating the Future of FemTech
So how do we help innovators navigate this landscape? The answer lies in involvement and co-production. Early-stage innovators can benefit from working closely with NHS trusts, healthcare professionals and women with lived experience to gain real-world insights, build evidence, and ensure their products are clinically effective. As women are disproportionately affected by digital exclusion due to factors such as lower digital literacy and socio-economic challenges, innovation can also reduce digital exclusion for women, which is crucial in ensuring equitable access to opportunities in education, healthcare, and the workforce.
At DigitalHealth.London and Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, we are uniquely established to help innovators navigate the complex health and care system, increasing the rate of innovation adoption at pace and scale. Our Lived Experience Partners (LEPs) advise innovators on involvement activities, connecting them with a network of community groups, patients and professionals that inform and drive the development of their solutions in collaboration with voices of experience.
Furthermore, with an increasing number of funding opportunities for women’s health solutions becoming available, innovators can take advantage of initiatives like Accelerating FemTech. The programme helps UK-based, early-stage companies, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics focused on women’s health to gain the commercial and funding momentum they need for long-term success. Delivered by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London and partners across the UK, it utilises Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council.
As the FemTech space continues to expand, women’s health is starting to get the attention it deserves. By focusing on inclusivity, data transparency, and patient involvement, we can create a future where digital innovation not only solves some of the most persistent challenges in women’s health, but uplifts every woman, everywhere.
Learn more about Accelerating FemTech
Find out how we're supporting early-stage companies, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics focused on women’s health.
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