The truth is that this term was born to define technology startups that create health products focused on women. However, today, the term encompasses much more: it is a broader phenomenon that relates feminism and technology.
Why femtech?
Technology has historically been a male-dominated field, but for some time now, that has started to change. Also in the way we interact with technology.
The term femtech, short for “female tech,” was coined by Ida Tin, founder of the menstruation app Clue, which allows women to track things like their weight, mood, sleep, energy, cravings, and bleeding. done so well that the app is expected to have a market value of $ 50 billion by 2025, according to research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
Not just health and sexuality
Among other objectives, the companies and associations that are included within the femtech, fight to eradicate the gender gap in the technology sector and promote the participation of women in the careers known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Thus, although femtech is growing, there are many other spaces where female technologists are finding their way to make sure that technology works for everyone . One of those spaces is voice technology. Charlotte Webb is an ethical technology consultancy who founded Feminist Internet , a nonprofit organization that aims to fight internet and technology inequalities. Webb, who began her career as an academic and artist, wanted to change the way the tech industry not only discriminates against women in the workplace, but also in the products we use every day. It is very important to make sure that the technology we interact with is not sexist, racist or homophobic, hence they designed a guide to build a feminist chatbot.
European femtech startups
Within the emerging range of digital technologies focused specifically on women’s health, in Europe, several startups have done their part to bring the best technology-driven healthcare to women in the form of medical prevention and treatment. These are Some examples:
Elvie:
Another woman who has greatly influenced this femtech scene is Tania Boler, founder of Elvie, a company that sells two products: the first, launched in 2014, is a pelvic floor trainer that allows women to do Kegel exercises (contract and repeatedly relax the muscles that are part of the pelvic floor) and connects via Bluetooth to the phone so that subscribers can follow their progress. Last September, they launched their second product, a portable, cordless, hands-free breast pump that debuted with a humorous ad.
Syrona Women:
Founded in 2017 in London, Syrona is a digital women’s technology platform that helps women manage their own gynecological health at home through a subscription. The platform can monitor female problems in three areas: fertility, endometriosis, and gynecological cancers.
Aspivix:
Aspivix is an innovative woman care company from Lausanne, Switzerland. They provide clinics and hospitals with a single-use, painless device as a replacement for the medieval, painful forceps still used in standard gynecological examinations. They promise their female patients a “new generation of surgical instruments for gentler and more modern gynecological procedures.” Founded in 2015, the startup has raised more than $ 3 million in funding in various rounds of funding.
Woom:
Founded in Madrid in 2016, this Spanish startup has raised a total of 1.3 million dollars. What is woom? A data-driven application designed to maximize the chances of pregnancy because between 17% and 25% of couples struggle with fertility problems. The WOOM app provides personalized recommendations, a cycle calendar, calculates daily pregnancy chances, and provides users with ongoing support through an engaged community and fertility services platform. The application can be downloaded from the Apple and Google Play stores.
