Top 100 Women in Fem Tech and Health Tech
In 2017, we released our first Top 100 Women in Wearable and Consumer Tech list, and this year we are back with a new list for the year 2019, this time focusing on top female leaders in fem tech and health tech industries globally.
This list was done in collaboration between Marija Butkovic, founder and CEO of Women of Wearables, Alika Nileshwar, Women of Wearables member and Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, LLP in Washington and Nicole Dahlstrom, founder and CEO of FemTech Collective and Women of Wearables Bay Area Ambassador.
Disclaimer: The list has been arranged in alphabetical order and not in rank. There are many more women who should be on this list and we’d like to encourage everyone to continue adding to it by posting in the comments. Also, in case you think we have missed someone or wish to suggest a correction, please drop us a line on hello@womenofwearables.com.
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Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the “application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives”. This includes pharmaceuticals, devices, procedures, and organizational systems used in the healthcare industry as well as computer-supported information systems. Health tech is now a multi-billion dollar industry that is rapidly changing the way we handle medicine. (read more about health technology)
Over the past few years, there has also been an increase in health-related products designed with the female consumer in mind. With more or less half the population on this planet being female, there’s clearly a demand for health related products and services that meet their specific needs. FemTech is a term applied to a category of software, diagnostics, products, and services that use technology often to focus on women’s health. This sector includes fertility solutions, period-tracking apps, pregnancy and nursing care, women’s sexual wellness, and reproductive system health care. Fem tech was coined by Ida Tin, a Danish entrepreneur who founded Clue, a period-and fertility-tracking app. As an industry, fem tech largely encompasses any digital or standard health tools aimed at women’s health, including wearables, internet-connected medical devices, mobile apps, hygiene products, and others. (read more about Fem tech)
In March 2018, Frost & Sullivan released new data, predicting a market potential of $50 billion by 2025. Estimates suggest that around $200 billion is being spent on fem tech products each year. Personalized wellness and consumer healthcare technology has been a top-5 investment area in digital health for several years now, and fem tech has brought in overall funding of approximately $1 billion since 2014. Since 2016, regulatory agencies have also approved digital applications for conventional women’s health issues and this has paved the way for fem tech applications in the mainstream market. The main areas of concern for women are centered on access to affordable healthcare, maternal and child care, family planning and fertility, mental health, management of chronic diseases and elderly care. Most fem tech applications therefore revolve around key women’s health issues, such as reproductive and maternal health, general health, and wellness, which includes mental health, chronic diseases, and communicable diseases. (source)
source: Frost & Sullivan report (see paragraph above for link)
One of the main problems that still remains is the lack of female role models, especially investors. This is because the majority of angel investors are men and because VC firms are mostly comprised of male partners. And since men network with other men within their network, they also invest more in male-led startups and businesses. Venture firms with women investment partners are 3 times more likely to invest in companies with female CEOs. It’s no wonder women CEOs aren’t getting funded.
For every £1 of venture capital (VC) investment in the UK, all-female founder teams get less than 1p, all-male founder teams get 89p, and mixed-gender teams 10p. Venture capital investment in start-ups with female founders is increasing but progress is very slow. At current rates, for all-female teams to reach even 10% of all deals will take more than 25 years (until 2045). 83% of deals that UK VCs made last year had no women at all on the founding teams (source). This ultimately means that a very small number of female-led businesses are being funded by VCs (not only in the UK but also worldwide), and if female-led businesses aren’t receiving enough funding or are not receiving it at all, it means the entire tech industry is missing out on some potentially great businesses.
All-women teams received just $1.9 billion of the $85 billion total invested by venture capitalists in 2017, according to data on the from M&A, private equity, and VC database PitchBook. That’s equal to about 2.2% of 2017’s total pot. Meanwhile, all-male teams received about $66.9 billion — roughly 79%. (Of the remaining 19%, 12% of funds were raised by mixed-gender teams, while 7% was raised by teams whose gender makeup PitchBook was unable to confirm.) (source)
A 2017 report by Diversity VC showed that only 13% of decision makers (partners or equivalent) in UK venture capital are women, 48% of investment teams have no women at all. Looking exclusively at decision makers, a staggering 66% of investment teams have no women decision makers. Women comprise just 27% of the venture capital workforce in the UK, and by comparison women comprise 47% of the UK labour force.
In order to raise awareness and to celebrate female founders, entrepreneurs and technologists in the fem tech and health tech industries, we at Women of Wearables have compiled a list of the top 100 women in fem tech and health tech. By showcasing and highlighting these women and their achievements, we hope to inspire more women to participate in building the global Fem Tech and Health Tech community.
The only way to change the industry is to be part of the industry. Without female role models, women cannot be what they cannot see.
Top 100 Women in Fem Tech and Health Tech
Aagya Mathur and Aya Suzuki, co-founders of Aavia, a start up that is revolutionizing the birth control experiences, by creating the first ever smart Pill sleeve;
Aashima Gupta, Director of Global Healthcare Solutions at Google Cloud, where she is accountable for driving healthcare strategy and solutions;
Alex Friedman and Jordana Kier, co-founders of Lola, a feminine care brand that offers period and sexual wellness products;
Allie Griswold, co-founder of Athena Club, a feminine care company aiming to make women’s lives easier with high-quality period products;
Amy Bernal, Chief Experience Officer at Aira, a company that is changing lives of individuals who are blind or visually Impaired through the interaction of smart wearable devices, AI, and real, remote people, read our interview with Amy here;
Amy McDonough, SVP Strategy & Operations at Fitbit Health Solutions, a highly engaging, personalized health solution comprising of wearable devices and self tracking, personalised digital interventions and health coaching and virtual care;
Ann Garnier, founder of Lisa Health — digital app for midlife women using science and real honesty to help them navigate menopause and midlife health challenges;
Annie Ridout and Kim Palmer, co-founders of Clementine App — an app helping women to worry less, feel more confident and sleep better, read our interview with Annie and Kim here;
Bea Feliu-Espada, founder of the Honey Pot Co, which provides plant-based feminine care products;
Bethany Edwards, co-founder of Lia Diagnostics, which created the first flushable and biodegradable pregnancy test;
Billie Quinlan and Anna Hushlak, co-founders of Ferly, which aims to radically transform society’s relationship with sex;
Cara Delzer, CEO and co-founder of Moxxly, which focuses on making functional and beautiful products for women, including a discreet, smart, hands-free breast pump;
Carolyn Witte, co-founder and CEO at Tia, an innovative, early-stage women’s health-tech company reimagining the highly complex world of reproductive health care;
Cecile Real, CEO at Endodiag, a biotechnology company that specializes in the development of products and services aimed at improving the diagnosis of endometriosis;
Chia Chia Sun, CEO of Damiva, a women’s health company manufacturing all-natural products for menopausal health;
Claire Coder, CEO and founder of Aunt Flow, the first full-solution to help businesses and schools stock their bathrooms with freely accessible tampons and pads;
Claire Novorol, co-founder of Ada Health, an AI-powered health platform that helps people understand their health and navigate to the appropriate care;
Colette Courtion, CEO and founder of Joy Lux Inc., a consumer health company creating innovative, light-based medical device products to transform women’s pelvic floor health;
Darlene Higbee Clarkin, CEO and co-founder of KORE Digital Health Therapeutics, a digital program designed to treat gut-related diseases;
Debra Bass, Global Chief Marketing Officer and President of Nuvo Group, a medical device company that offers an innovative remote maternal-fetal monitoring solution;
Debra Duke, Founder, President and CEO of MenoGeniX, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on treating hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms;
Elin Haf Davies, founder and CEO of Aparito, company that provides wearables and mHealth for remote patient monitoring, read our interview with Elin here;
Elina Berglund, co-founder and CTO at Natural Cycles — a contraceptive app that spearheads the development of digital contraception, read our interview with Elina here;
Emily Sauer, founder of OHNUT, an intimate health wearable for painful sex, read our interview with Emily here;
Estrella Jaramillo, co-founder of B-wom, a digital coach for women’s health, read our interview with Estrella here;
Flavia Wahl, founder and CEO of iBreve — wearable device that fights stress in a simple, instant and natural way, read our interview with Flavia here;
Gabby Edlin, CEO and founder of Bloody Good Period, a UK-based organization dedicated to providing period supplies to asylum seekers, refugees & those who can’t afford them;
Geetha Manjunath, CEO and co-founder of Niramai, a health tech startup using AI and machine learning to detect early stage breast cancer;
Gina Bartasi, CEO and founder of Kindbody, which is reinventing women’s health and fertility services through technology, and increased accessibility and convenience;
Gloria Kolb, CEO of Elidah, a medical device startup commercializing Elitone, a non-surgical, non-invasive treatment for incontinence;
Greta Kreuzer, co-founder and CEO of cosinuss°, company that develops mobile health solutions together with innovative in-ear wearables, read our interview with Greta here;
Hadeel Ayoub, founder and CTO at BrightSign, an assistive technology start-up developing enabling innovations to facilitate communication for individuals who are non-verbal, read our interview with Hadeel here;
Halle Tecco, an investor and philanthropist in the digital health space and Founder Emeritus of Rock Health, a digital health venture;
Holly Rockweiler, CEO and co-founder of Madorra, a medical device company dedicated to creating solutions that improve quality of life after menopause;
Ida Tin, co-founder and CEO of Clue, a menstrual and fertility tracking app;
Isabel Van De Keere, founder and CEO at Immersive Rehab — VR health tech start-up that focuses on the creation and development of interactive rehab environments and games in virtual reality that will improve the effectiveness of physical rehabilitation, read our interview with Isabel here;
Jennifer Tye, Chief Operating Officer at Glow, an enterprise that offers personal health products powered by data to help people manage their health;
Jenny Thomas, Programme Director, DigitalHealth.London Accelerator — London-based digital health Accelerator targeting innovative healthtech businesses, and inviting them to apply to receive help to develop and deploy digital solutions to some of the NHS’ most pressing challenges;
Jessica Ching, CEO and co-founder of Eve Medical, a start-up that makes female-friendly medical devices;
Jessica Kahn, Senior Expert at McKinsey & Company, and former director of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;
Jill Angelo, CEO and co-founder of genneve, a digital health platform for women in midlife, read our interview with Jill here;
Judy Murphy, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at IBM Global Healthcare;
Juli Insinger, co-founder and Head of Business and Growth at Carrot Fertility, customizable fertility benefit solution;
Julia Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Creative Lead and co-founder at LifeSense Group, a wearable technology company that designs and creates applications for medical, health and wellbeing;
Kate Torgersen, CEO and founder of Milk Stork, the first breast milk shipping service for business traveling, breastfeeding moms;
Katherine Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven, a virtual clinic for women & families offering on-demand healthcare from anywhere and modern family benefits;
Kerranna Williamson and Amy Domangue, co-founders of Jessie Health, an online platform that streamlines access to women’s digital health services, read our interview with them here;
Laurence Fontinoy, CEO and co-founder of Woom, a data driven app that empowers women to maximize chances of pregnancy;
Lauren Wang, CEO and founder of The Flex Company, a women’s hygiene product company that offers innovative menstrual products;
Lavanya Aribandi, Chief Medical Officer at Celes Care, a virtual health clinic for women’s health;
Lea Von Bidder, co-founder and President at Ava Science — a sensor bracelet which that offers women easy and accurate way to track their menstrual cycle and detect their fertile days, read our interview with Lea here;
Lina Chan and Rose Acton, co-founders of Adia Health, a digital health company revolutionising reproductive health by providing greater access to diagnostic tests and proactive support;
Lisa Marie Lawrence, CEO of Monthly Gift Inc., a femme care subscription service powered by technology;
Lise Pape, founder of Walk With Path, a medical device company that creates wearables that reduce the risk of falls in vulnerable individuals, read our interview with Lise here;
Liz Klinger and Anna Lee, co-founders of Lioness, an award-winning women’s sexual health company, read our interview with Liz and Anna here,
Lizette Alvarez, COO of Health Core Possibilities, a company applying AI technology to healthcare tools and services;
Lora Haddock, founder and CEO of Lora DiCarlo, a woman-run start up focused on creating products and educational resources that promote female and LGBTQI sexual empowerment, read our interview with Lora here;
Lydia Yarlott, co-founder of Forward Health, a messaging and collaboration app that connects health care teams around the world, read our interview with Lydia here;
Lyndsey Harper, founder and CEO of Rosy, a women’s health company connecting women who have decreased sexual desire with evidence-based resources to improve libido, read our interview with Lyndsey here;
Maree Beare, founder and CEO of Wanngi, a mobile app that connects the Australian Digital Health record with personal health, wellness and fitness information;
Mari Thomas, founder of MAAREE — manufacturing women’s sports performance apparel, read our interview with Mari here;
Maria Molland, CEO of Thinx, a New York-based period-proof underwear brand;
Mary Fenske, founder of Posture Wings, an innovative brand of apparel that aims to improve posture and reduce pain, read our interview with Mary here;
Mary Kerr, CEO of KaNDy Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on the treatment of common, chronic debilitating female sex-hormone related conditions;
Maryam Ziaei, CEO and Co-Founder of iSono Health, an AI-powered platform for accessible and personalized women’s health;
Maxine Mackintosh, co-founder of One HealthTech, community that supports and promotes women and other under-represented groups to be future leaders in health innovation, read our interview with Maxine here;
Meika Hollender and Sheila Hollender, co-founders of Sustain Natural, a brand of all natural, vagina-friendly products;
Milena Bacalja Perianes, co-founder and Chief Innovation and Research officer at Menstrual Health Hub, female health nonprofit and social impact business;
Molly Dickens, Head of Content and Community at Bloomlife — a women’s health company with the first wearable for pregnancy, read our interview with Molly here;
Molly Hayward, co-founder of Cora, a feminine wellness brand that is dedicated to providing women across the world access to safe and effective period products;
Mylene Yao, M.D., CEO and co-founder of Univfy, a predictive analytics company that uses machine learning to help more women access in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments;
Naomi Kelman, CEO and President of Willow, a platform for products that help improve the lives and health of women, such as the Willow Wearable Breast Pump;
Natalie Price, founder and CEO at Proximity Care — a wearable warning device that alerts dementia carers to wandering, read our interview with Natalie here;
Nicole Dahlstrom, founder and CEO of FemTech Collective, which offers products and services that help female focused health technology startups overcome barriers to success, read our interview with Nicole here;
Noor Shaker, co-founder and CEO at GTN Ltd., a company that revolutionises drug discovery through novel quantum machine learning technology;
Nuala Murphy, founder and CEO of Moment Health, a technology company with a groundbreaking digital solution for the prevention and treatment of women’s mental health illnesses, read our interview with Nuala here;
Paige Fashoni, founder and CEO of FLUX Undies — reusable period-proof underwear that replaces single-use disposable pads and tampons;
Piraye Beim, founder and CEO of Celmatix Inc., a women’s health company transforming reproductive healthcare through genomics and big data;
Rachel Blank, co-founder of Rory, an end-to-end service for women’s health offering accessible, high-quality, personalized healthcare to help women through the biological changes of midlife and beyond;
Reenita Das, Frost & Sullivan Transformational Health Partner and Senior Vice President, Forbes contributor on Femtech and author of The Rise of the SHEconomy: Female Economic Power;
Ridhi Tariyal, CEO and co-founder of NextGen Jane, which provides genomics-based personalized solutions to help women track their health;
Ruby Raut, CEO and co-founder of Wuka Wear, the UK’s first period underwear brand;
Rupal Asodaria, founder of NursElet, a hands-free nursing and pump reminder bracelet, read our interview with Rupal here;
Saundra Pelletier, CEO of Evofem Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products to address women’s sexual and reproductive health;
Sandra Saldana, co-founder and CEO of Alva Health, developing a wearable device for early stroke detection;
Sharon Samjitsingh, co-founder of Health Care Originals, a digital health startup focused on improving the lives of those with chronic respiratory disease, read our interview with Sharon here;
Shubhra Jain, a Primary Care Physician and investor leading healthcare investments at Cota Capital, read our interview with Shubhra here;
Sophia Yen, CEO and co-founder of Pandia Health, a birth control delivery service;
Sophie Baratte, CEO and Bommy Lee, Director of Communications and Digital Marketing, at Cellnovo, a medtech company specializing in diabetes management;
Stephanie Alys, co-founder and CPO of Mystery Vibe — an award-winning British pleasure brand, read our interview with Stephanie here;
Susan Hertzberg, CEO at Prelude Fertility, a comprehensive fertility services company that is transforming the infertility segment of healthcare;
Sylvia Kang, co-founder and CEO of Quanovate, which developed Mira, a highly expandable family health monitoring platform, read our interview with Sylvia here;
Tania Boler, co-founder and CEO of Elvie, who designed Elvie Trainer — the award-winning Kegel trainer for a stronger pelvic floor and ElviePump — world’s first silent wearable breast pump, read our interview with Tania here;
Tanvi Johri, CEO and co-founder of Carmesi, a women’s hygiene company that offers all natural and biodegradable sanitary pads and panty liners;
Tara Donnelly, Chief Executive of the Health Innovation Network and Chief Digital Officer of NHS England, read our interview with Tara here;
Terri Hanson Mead, a digital health investor and host of Piloting Your Life, a podcast focused on women’s health;
Tina Woods, founder of Collider Health, a health innovation catalyst that aims to transform health with meaningful impact, read our interview with Tina here;
Urska Srsen, CPO and co-founder of Bellabeat — company building tech powered wellness products for women;
Wan Tseng, designer, maker and researcher, founder of Wisp — company with a mission to empower women, unlocking their sensuality through personal experiences with design and technology, read our interview with Wan here;
Yanghee Paik, Bina Won and Aness An, co-founders of Rael, company that advocates organic and health conscious feminine and beauty products.
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This article and list was also published on Medium.