Femtech – Empowerment through Innovation

Online Discussion: How the Rise of “Femtech” relates to Women´s Empowerment

Worldwide, Femtech products have helped addressing women’s largely overlooked physical needs by breaking taboos such as menstruation, menopause, and infertility. But are Femtech innovations restricted to women`s health? And who are the protagonists in the Femtech industry? In an online event organized by DWIH Tokyo and JDZB Berlin, the founders Peggy Reichelt (XbxX Women in Balance) and Dr. Amina Sugimoto (fermata inc) introduced their Femtech companies and shared their experience as female entrepreneurs. From the side of science, three experts discussed aspects of female underrepresentation in medicine and technology: Dr. med. Carina Vorisek (Berlin Institute of Health, Charité Berlin), Prof. Dr. Nicola Marsden (Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences), and Dr. Miyoko O. Watanabe (Deputy Executive Director at JST) called attention to data biases and the ignorance of female perspective. Bringing science and industry together in a final panel discussion, the speakers talked about the future of Femtech as well as the next steps to get women into decision-making positions. The online recording is still available on the DWIH Tokyo website.