Funding women's health innovations is a massive economic opportunity.

Forbes

a day ago

Women's health now includes conditions that affect them exclusively, differently and ... More disproportionately. That includes everything from endometriosis and menopause to heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Unprecedented advances in medical science mean women live longer, yet they die in poorer health than men. The reasons are structural and systemic. The health system continues to be shaped by outdated definitions, insufficient research, and lopsided funding, according to the recently released Accenture and Springboard Enterprises' 2025 State of Women's Health report.
What is needed now is not just more lip service, but a realignment of investment priorities—private, public, and philanthropic—that recognizes the full spectrum of women's health. 'Women's health is still vastly misunderstood,' says Alice Zheng, MD, MBA, and a partner at Foreground Capital, a venture fund focused on women's health. 'There's opportunity in almost every place you look.'
NIH funding and VC investments
In 2024, healthtech startups raised $28.5 billion in venture capital. Of that, just $1.6 billion went to femtech, products and services focused on women's health. That's about 6% of the pie. Meanwhile, of the $43.7 billion in research grants distributed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2023, only $3.5 billion—8%—was directed toward women's health. These gaps persist despite women comprising more than half of the U.S. population and 51% of medical school graduates.
'It all starts with awareness and funding,' says Alisa Wilson, managing director at Accenture. 'We need to stop tackling this piecemeal and instead take a holistic approach across the entire ecosystem—academia, biotech, pharma, providers, and investors.' Wilson stresses that funding isn't just about early-stage startups: It's the fuel that powers the entire pipeline from preclinical research through commercialization.
Zheng agrees. 'You need funding at every step—academic research, company formation, clinical validation, and market access. If the capital doesn't flow at each of those stages, innovation stalls.'
At the root of the underinvestment problem is a lingering misconception that women's health is synonymous with reproductive health. While areas like fertility, contraception, and menopause have received more attention in recent years, conditions that affect women differently or disproportionately—such as autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline—are even more underfunded and under-researched.
A study found that women make up 78% of autoimmune disease patients, yet most immunology research still centers on male biology. In cardiovascular research, women account for just 38% of participants in clinical trials, even though heart disease is the leading cause of death for women globally, more than all cancers combined.
'There's still this assumption that we can just extrapolate from male data,' says Wilson. 'But women have 51% more adverse events across all products, likely because dosing, efficacy, and safety haven't been adequately studied by sex. That's a business problem as much as a health one.'
The irony is that addressing the women's health gap isn't just a social imperative—it's a massive economic opportunity. A McKinsey report estimated that closing the women's health gap could add $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040 through increased productivity, reduced healthcare costs, and better health outcomes.
'This is a long game,' says Wilson. 'Better data and earlier intervention can improve therapy adherence, reduce hospitalizations, and ultimately lower costs. For pharma, that means more patients staying on treatment longer. For insurers, it's fewer high-cost emergencies. Everyone wins.'
The private market is starting to take notice. At Springboard Enterprises, which accelerates the success of women-led health companies, menopause has become one of the fastest-growing areas of deal flow. Investment in women's health-specific conditions tripled between 2019 and 2024. Funding for health conditions adjacent to women's health grew even more. 'We're also seeing interest grow in cardiovascular and autoimmune conditions, as investors recognize how deeply women are affected,' says Miranda Ewald, director of programs at Springboard.
Yet significant white space remains. Zheng highlights cognitive health and postmenopausal aging as two critical areas where funding is urgently needed. 'There's an entire spectrum of women's health issues tied to hormonal changes—brain health, bone density, cardiovascular risks—but they've been largely ignored by research and investment communities.'
Even when founders tackle these high-need areas, they face challenges in positioning their companies effectively. For years, women's health startups had to shoehorn their solutions into the narrow definitions of femtech or reproductive care to get investor attention.
That's changing. 'We're starting to see a shift away from fertility as the dominant narrative,' says Ewald. 'In fact, many investors are now more interested in startups that have broader applications, like bone health technologies that started with women but can scale to serve all populations.'
Still, the term 'women's health' itself remains a double-edged sword. 'Ironically, some generalist investors told us they're more likely to invest if a company doesn't brand itself as a women's health company—even if it clearly is,' says Zheng. 'That's how deep the bias runs.'
Accenture and Springboard's framework aims to broaden the scope. Instead of viewing women's health as a niche, the report categorizes conditions into three buckets: those that are exclusive to women, differently experienced by women, and disproportionately affect women. That includes everything from endometriosis and menopause to heart disease and Alzheimer's. Accelerating innovation in women's health unlocks economic and health gains that benefit everyone—not just women.
This broader lens reframes women's health as a systemic public health issue—one that affects not only women but also their families, workplaces, and economies. 'We need to stop asking why women's health matters,' says Wilson. 'The better question is, how much longer can we afford to ignore it?'
It's time for funders—public, private, and philanthropic—to realign their priorities. The evidence is clear: women's health is not just about reproduction, and it's not just a women's issue. It's a societal one. Closing the funding gap could unlock better care, stronger economies, and longer, healthier lives for everyone.
If we redefine women's health, we can shape a better healthier future for everyone.