“FemTech” is the shorthand industry term for female technology. This refers specifically to the types of technology that are better suited to meet the needs of women, who do not always share the same concerns or requirements that men do.FemTech is a particularly important focus in digital health, where there’s a greater emphasis on patient centric care through new initiatives like the Medically Home Program for virtual hospital treatment.
There are many areas of medicine that are more relevant to female concerns, but until recently, there has been a big gap in the demand versus the available supply of FemTech related innovations and services. Today this is changing.
Women Are Forging Ahead With Patient Centric Care
The market for FemTech is a vast spectrum of different health and medical needs that comprises a market worth $50 billion in the US alone. Surprisingly, despite that huge market, this isn’t an area that has always been closely watched and addressed. The usual culprit for this market neglect was the people in charge; men, controlling the finances of these businesses and who didn’t see the need or opportunities that came with addressing this market.
That’s changing rapidly, and it is not because the men in charge changed their minds, it’s because more and more women are taking charge and redirecting these investments themselves. It may lead to some new developments and markets that a traditionally male-dominated business environment never thought to enter.
New Firms Take A Stake
One of the most prominent examples of more women investing FemTech is Trish Costello and Portofolia FemTech fund. Using her own experiences, and that of the women she knows, she is part of a wave of venture capital investment that is looking into areas previously unaddressed.
Labor and childbirth, for example, are one of Portfolia’s interests. The high rates of Caesarean sections for birth may not be as necessary as the medical staff believes if more focus is put on women’s health before labor. Better and earlier diagnoses of preeclampsia, as one example, could lead to fewer C-sections for women once the time comes to give birth.
Other companies, such as F3, the Female Founders Fund, tackle broader issues, not just of virtual hospital treatment, but a healthier lifestyle of wellness overall, through patient centric care, digital health, and other initiatives. This group is looking at daily health and wellness concerns for women, such as menstruation and menopause that can benefit from more attention, funding, and market availability to help the female demographic.
