One of the biggest questions we girls should be asking ourselves is ‘what does it mean to be a sexually active or inactive woman in the digital age?’ The Internet has become a hyper-accessible classroom and now it’s second nature to turn to the web with sensitive questions about female health, thus making technology our doctor and confidante.
But that’s not fem-tech; by definition, it is the umbrella portmanteau for technologies dedicated to the reproductive well-being of women. There’s no real knowledge of the size of this market; in fact, a simple Google search of ‘fem-tech in India’ won’t bring up any real community space or start-ups. But techpreneurs entering this space already have a key demographic of 51% of the world population.
Dr Shubhra Jain, board member of The FemTech Collective
Dr Shubhra Jain is a physician by background and is now a pioneering investor in the healthcare sector for investment fund Cota Capital in San Francisco. Passionate about female health and supporting technological innovation in this space, she is on the board of the FemTech Collective, a global network for innovators in the female health technology space. “There has always been scepticism towards fem-tech,” she explains, “but a lot of it, honestly, is stemming from the fact that it’s designed by men.
The numbers
According to Dr Shubhra, this also applies to the investment space, where only 2% of venture funding went to female founders, and just 8% of partners at the top venture capital firms are women. She adds, “I constantly hear from female entrepreneurs that they’re pitching to a room full of men who have no idea what this type of technology could mean and how impactful it could be.”
- Menstruation care: Livia, Carmesi, The Honey Pot Company
- Pregnancy care: PregBuddy, NuvaRing, Babyscripts
- Fertility tracking and solutions: Clue, Woom, Flo, Ava, Oasis, The Birthplace
- General healthcare: Progenity, Maven
- Cancer care: Niramai, Women’s Cancer Initiative
- Nursing care: Elvie, Keriton, Willow
- Menopausal health: Madorra, Genneve
- Pelvic/Sexual health: Nurx, Minerva Surgical
Has fem-tech always been around? The age of making a pink version of a gadget for women consumers is finally dying out, proving that techpreneurs and big corporations are finally getting the hint. But it’s not just a labelling and packaging issue. “In the case of fem-tech, we really are seeing the beginning of innovation and attention for this space,” comments Dr Shubhra, “Females, as consumers of technology, have been neglected for a very long time, and people are waking up to it.”
The language employed here is also incredibly important. “The vernacular we take on has helped us further the fem-tech movement,” Dr Shubhra says, “Thanks to the labelling and packaging, we have something to talk about; which allows us to rally like-minded people around it. The nomenclature is helpful in that sense and it makes it easier to measure and track market activity. It helps link the community together.”
Laparoscopic surgeon and consulting gynaecologist at Yashoda Hospitals in Hyderabad, Dr Kavitha Naragoni, says it’s important for India to keep afloat of the updates, regardless of gender, adding, “Technology comes with a cost, and is unaffordable to the majority of women. Providing accessible healthcare coverage for all women and their families is the need of the hour, as women need additional healthcare system more than men, as they already face a myriad of challenges — such as coverage of maternity care, contraception, coverage of basic preventive services like breast and cervical cancer screenings and diabetes and direct access to OB/GYNs.”
In the home
And what trends do we look out for? One big trend is fem-tech which is usable at home. At-home fertility in the form of ovulation tracking allows women to make empowered choices around if, when and how to start a family — be it freezing eggs, tracking ovulation and so on. Breastfeeding and nursing have changed big time this year, thanks to innovations in the breast pump sector; names including Willow, Elvie and Keriton tackle the taboos and abolish the stigma associated with breastfeeding. Women are also turning to menstrual health apps and pain-cancelling devices such as Livia.
The Elvie breast pump and the app screenshots
How we take these on is tricky, infers Dr Shubhra, who adds, “Globally, there is a long way to go in terms of adoption. Some societies haven’t even yet reached an ‘awareness’ phase. Conversations are the first step. These conversations are helping investors and the innovation ecosystem understand the demand and the market potential for solutions focused on female health.”
Vice President of Commerce at Livia Ran Halberstein joined the fem-tech realm because he saw the huge potential in the market, adding, “Despite being a new industry, we are seeing the huge impact on thousands of lives. Women have to take days off and cope with menstrual pain and such solutions can empower women.”
The more responsive a technology is, the more successful. If you have a menstrual assistant such as Clue or Period Tracker Period Calendar on your smartphone, you’re already invested in the fem-tech space. With a simple swipe, you can gauge whether your cycle is regular or not and you can communicate with your doctor using this recorded data too. In the age of Big Data, not everything is as angelic as it seems when it comes to these reproductive cycle tracking apps. While we rely upon the doctor-patient confidentiality to retain privacy, these apps don’t require meeting the privacy standards of our doctors. Apps want us to link our Facebook and Google accounts, promising a seamless way to save our medical history.
Screenshots of the Clue app
Social media has driven this industry further and faster, gearing the facilities towards the tech-literate; as we remove the taboo, the advertising and everything publicly disseminated follows through. From both a consumer and innovator’s perspective, experts including Dr Kavitha and Dr Shubhra agree there’s no cultural boundary when it comes to fem-tech; the goal is the well-being of the end-user.
