Health Tech of the Week: Marina Gerner, author of The Vagina Business, on the barriers and opportunities for femtech entrepreneurs

Femtech remains a hot topic in the medical industry, one that has also dominated the Healthtech of the Week series. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Marina Gerner, a British financial journalist and columnist who has long covered issues of innovation, investment, and equality. Her book The Vagina Business breaks taboos and reveals how the lack of understanding of women’s perspectives in medicine, technology, and business has been blocking the development of essential innovations. It is also an important contribution to the conversation about a sector that addresses the needs of half of society, yet for decades has been marginalized by both researchers and investors.

Anita Kijanka: As a financial journalist, you’ve written about various industries – what made you decide to dedicate an entire book specifically to femtech? Was there a particular 'eureka’ moment?

Marina Gerner: I’m a journalist, and when I first set out to write about innovation centered on women’s bodies, I was told it was too “niche.” Still, I kept pushing until, in 2020, I published a piece in Wired magazine that went viral: We need to talk about investors’ problem with vaginas. It captured the hesitation summed up by one venture capitalist who said, “I don’t want to talk about vaginas in my Monday morning partner meeting.”

What enraged me was realizing that the reason we lack the innovation women urgently need isn’t because it’s impossible, but because there’s a lot of stigma around these issues–not just in the investment world, but also among researchers, nonprofits, and everywhere else. So I decided to put my energy into writing a book that would bring femtech to the mainstream.

What surprised you most during your research for the book – was there a story or statistic that completely changed your perspective?

Women are 50% more likely than men to be given a wrong diagnosis after a heart attack. That’s because our medical system was built around the male default. It was only in 1993 that women and people of colour were officially included in US clinical trials by the FDA. Today, the heart attack symptoms of women are still considered “atypical”–and we urgently need to close those gender data gaps.

How does the lack of diversity in clinical research affect the development of products for women, and how can this be changed?

The industry I write about is known as “femtech” – people sometimes ask me: ‘Why do you write about FemTech when there is no such thing as MenTech?’. 

The reality is that most of our stuff, whether objects of tech, has overlooked women in their design: protective clothing for healthcare workers, seat belts (don’t take boobs into account), and smartphones–even pianos have been designed for male bodies.

To design better products for women, we need to close the gender data gaps in healthcare and have more women involved in the design process itself. And that means inspiring young girls into STEM early on and making workplaces more inclusive.

In The Vagina Business, I wrote about a study led by Rembrand Koning at Harvard Business School, which found that patents with all-female inventor teams are 35% more likely than all-male teams to focus on women’s health.

In your book, you write about the barriers that female entrepreneurs in femtech face. Do you have any advice for women who want to start a startup in women’s health? Where should they begin?

Start by reading The Vagina Business! It will give you an overview of the space and insights from key players in the space. I write about how to find “unmet needs” and I explain the investment space–so there’s a lot of hands-on advice for aspiring founders.

Which countries or regions do you consider pioneers in creating friendly regulations for innovations in women’s health?

It really depends on what kind of regulation we’re looking at. The EU is stricter on data privacy, for example, which can make life harder for innovative companies, but I would say that’s a good thing.

When it comes to regulation around the ingredients of period products, for example, I have yet to see a country step up to make sure that period products are tested thoroughly. 

How do cultural differences between the countries you researched affect the acceptance and development of femtech technologies? Are there countries that could serve as a model for Poland in this regard?

It really depends on the specific product and context being discussed. Broadly speaking, the US has a great culture of entrepreneurship and the best funding opportunities, but there are political headwinds to progress in women’s health. 

I think scrappy entrepreneurs, who have a clear vision, can succeed in Poland as long as they know their target market, regulatory context and how to run a business. I’d recommend connecting with other femtech entrepreneurs online to see what’s happening around the world.

Are you already working on your next project? Will you remain in the femtech space, or do you plan to explore other topics related to equality?

I’m focused on public speaking at the moment. I talk at conferences, festivals, universities, and companies about our need for more innovation in women’s health. I’m also posting on LinkedIn and Instagram.

I do have an idea for the next project, but I’m not ready to talk about it yet–stay tuned!

—

Stay tuned for more in the “Health Tech of the Week” series, where we’ll continue to uncover fascinating stories from the world of medical technologies that are changing the face of healthcare. If you’re working on an innovative project in the field of new technologies and medicine or want to recommend an interesting solution, contact us at: [email protected].