FemTech is Advancing Women’s Health, But There’s Still Work To Be Done
For decades, women’s health has been under-researched and under-served, leaving a huge gender health gap and a need for more research and new treatments.
Historically, women have generally been excluded from clinical trials over concerns of harm to reproductive health and the potential of female hormones to impact trial results. A report from the London School of Economics highlights that this exclusion of women in health research has had significant implications for the diagnosis and treatment of female-related health conditions.
This has led to a lack of funding for women’s health research, medical gaslighting, delayed diagnosis, ineffective medications and a lack of treatments for women. For example, this report highlights that there is an average of seven years before a woman is diagnosed with endometriosis — a debilitating and painful condition that can drastically reduce quality of life and lead to infertility.
Adding to these barriers, other women’s health issues like menstruation, menopause, fertility and female sexual and mental health has often been seen as taboo, leading to shame around health and preventing women from seeking treatment.
To close this gender gap in healthcare, recent years have seen a surge in FemTech (technology tailored to women’s health). The FemTech sector is now one of the fastest growing digital health sectors, with the market projected to grow to USD$28.89 billion by 2032.
What Is Medical Gaslighting?
Medical gaslighting happens when a doctor dismisses or downplays a patient’s real health concerns without a proper evaluation — often due to bias, assumptions, or outdated thinking.
Empowering Women’s Health Through Innovation
From medical devices and mobile apps, to AI-powered software and diagnostics, the FemTech sector is helping to address the gaps in menstrual care, reproductive health, menopause, and more.
Advancements in AI and machine learning have fuelled a wide range of health developments for women, including in areas such as gynaecology, where AI is enabling faster and more accurate diagnosis that researchers say is improving the overall efficiency of gynecologic healthcare.
These technologies are also fueling advancements such as medical imaging for breast cancer, and predictive analytics — which is being utilised by menstrual tracking and health monitoring apps, for example.
These apps give women a closer insight into their menstrual cycles than ever before, enabling women to predict ovulation, track and understand pre-menstrual symptoms, and provide insight into irregular cycles.
AI and machine learning technologies are also being utilised to innovate fertility care, where they are being leveraged to improve embryo selection for IVF in a bid to improve success rates.
Currently, traditional IVF has a relatively low rate of success, and research shows that AI models can predict chromosomally normal embryos with 90% accuracy — potentially improving fertility outcomes.
“FemTech can provide personalised, accessible education, relevant reminders, and a stronger sense of partnership in their care journey.”
Home-testing is also seeing rapid innovation in the women’s health space, addressing issues such as menopause, hormone changes, cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections. For example, recent data revealed that up to 5 million women in the UK are not up to date with cervical smear tests due to fear of pain from the procedure or embarrassment.
To address this issue, women’s health company Daye has made a first-of-its kind, at-home diagnostic screening tampon for HPV — which is responsible for over 99% of cervical cancers — and Manchester University is currently trialling at-home urine tests for HPV.
The university highlights that not only will these tests improve uptake of cervical screening, but could save the NHS up to £10m per year.
Speaking to States of Mind, Dr. Melissa Walsh, OBGYN at BobiHealth, a pregnancy tracking platform that utilises AI and machine learning, says that these fem tech and digital health have the potential to transform everyday medical practice by closing gaps between clinic visits and giving patients more agency in their own care.
“For doctors, these tools can streamline symptom tracking, flag early warning signs, and prepare structured information before visits, which can allow more time for meaningful conversations instead of data gathering,” says Dr. Walsh.
“For patients, FemTech can provide personalised, accessible education, relevant reminders, and a stronger sense of partnership in their care journey.
“When designed thoughtfully, these tools can enhance the doctor–patient relationship and make healthcare more efficient, more responsive and ultimately more empowering.”
FemTech Challenges & Drawbacks
While technological innovation is empowering women on their health journeys, there remains challenges around privacy, accuracy, and regulation of some of these developments.
Research shows that health apps can have their drawbacks. For example, one study revealed concerns around health apps such as levels of prediction accuracy, population diversity, and lack of regulation.
Further issues include lack of privacy protection and minimal involvement from healthcare professionals in their development, for example. Research also suggests that health tracking apps may increase health anxiety in users.
“Research shows that these self-tests are often not providing relevant knowledge or information and they are not informing decisions in the right way.”
Equally, while at-home tests offer a number of benefits, studies published in The BMJ that assessed self-tests, including menopause tests that are sold in the UK, found that some may not be as reliable as suggested.
The studies raised issues around the suitability of the tests for public use, including a lack of evidence supporting accuracy claims, concerns over usability and safety, and a need for improved regulation of tests.
We also spoke to Amitava Banerjee, professor of Clinical Data Science at the Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, in response to the above mentioned studies:
“Direct-to-consumer, self-tests are increasingly used by people with and without disease for screening and are widely available from high street vendors.
“In these rigorous, real-world studies led by the University of Birmingham, we see two main findings. First, across 30 self-tests in 19 conditions from infertility and menopause to raised cholesterol and anaemia, there is not enough information for consumers to judge when and why to do the test, and how to interpret or how to act on the results.
“Second, the evidence and the support from clinical guidelines to use these tests is often lacking, suggesting that regulatory oversight needs to be improved.
“Sometimes people use self-tests because they “feel it is better to know” and they are trying to inform their health and healthcare decisions. This research shows that these self-tests are often not providing relevant knowledge or information and they are not informing decisions in the right way.
“If we get this right, we can help lower maternal and infant mortality, reduce costs for health systems, and give women control over their health journeys in ways that were never possible before.”
“Therefore, all stakeholders need to consider the quality of self-tests and information available to members of the public or health professionals before recommending their use, whether in the health and wellness space or in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.”
The British Menopause Society has also recommended against the use of at-home menopause self-test kits as they are limited by only measuring follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) — an indicator of menopause — rather than looking at the wider clinical picture.
Smarter & More Equitable Care for Women’s Health
Research shows that women face unique challenges when it comes to accessing healthcare such as scheduling challenges, dismissive or negative in-person encounters, challenges related to access, as well as transport and financial challenges.
The availability of services in rural communities is another barrier to care for women. These obstacles not only impact women, but also have a huge economic burden.
For example, research shows that menopause costs the global economy up to $150 billion per year due to women leaving the workplace and lost productivity, yet there remains a huge unmet need for menopause treatments.
“We see FemTech not just as a category of apps, but as a movement toward equity, prevention, and empowerment.”
Additionally, NHS data reveals that female-related health conditions such as endometriosis and period pain costs the UK £11 billion per year.
An analysis from Create Health Foundation, London Economics, and the NHS Confederation analysis suggests that investing £1 per woman in obstetrics and gynaecology services in England could generate £319 million.
Esra, founder and CEO of BobiHealth, believes that the fem tech sector is no longer just about tracking cycles, it’s about delivering smarter, more equitable care — noting that digital innovation can help to level the playing field by breaking down barriers of geography, as well as care costs.
“With AI, real-time data, and mobile platforms, we can deliver personalised support directly to women who might otherwise be overlooked by traditional healthcare systems,” says Esra.
“At BobiHealth, our mission is to make life-saving insights and proactive monitoring available to every mother, not just those with easy access to top-tier hospitals. That’s how we move from promise to real impact in equity.
Esra also believed that AI technology will help accelerate and improve opportunities for improved healthcare options. “The biggest opportunity is harnessing AI and predictive analytics to close global health gaps so every woman, whether she’s in a major city or a rural community, has access to timely, personalised support.
“We see FemTech not just as a category of apps, but as a movement toward equity, prevention, and empowerment. If we get this right, we can help lower maternal and infant mortality, reduce costs for health systems, and give women control over their health journeys in ways that were never possible before.
“That’s the global promise of this sector, and the impact we’re building toward.”
