FemTech innovations are transforming women's health care worldwide

JMIR Publications released a News and Perspectives story on technological innovations in women's health care. In "Bridging the Gender Gap in Health Care Innovation: The Evolution of FemTech" JMIR Correspondent Jenny Castillo Cato covers how FemTech has expanded over the past decade to become a major force for women's health worldwide.

The rise of FemTech

FemTech-female-focused health care technology-emerged as a response to longstanding disparities in women's health care, with major gaps in research funding and medical treatment stemming from "deep-rooted gender biases", writes Cato. What started as a handful of initiatives for menstrual tracking and fertility awareness has grown into a broad collection of reproductive care resources, allowing women to take a proactive role in monitoring and managing their own health. Some of these initiatives, like Invocares or Health in Her HUE, seek to address women's health inequity within broader systemic contexts, such as racial and socioeconomic disparities.

Changing attitudes towards women's health, demand stemming from regulatory changes in reproductive rights (such as the 2022 overturn of Roe v Wade in the United States), and expanding access to telehealth services have all contributed to this growing field, says Cato. As FemTech expands into a multi-billion dollar industry, international funding bodies have begun to create opportunities for further innovation, such as Qatar Science & Technology Park and Merck's collaborative FemTech Accelerator Program.

Going deeper

The future of FemTech will extend beyond reproductive health. FemTech has begun to shift towards addressing issues that affect women disproportionately or in under-researched ways, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and certain chronic conditions. These innovations-driven by continued investment, policy support, and access-create opportunities, writes Cato, "to address longstanding gender disparities and redefine how women access and experience medical care outside of traditional pathways."