International Womens Day: FemTech boom, market forecast and ethics warning
On international womens day Olivia Friett, editor of FemTech, highlighted moments from The FemTech Series podcast that spotlight the sector’s rapid rise and growing scrutiny. Allied Market Research projects the femtech market will expand from $6. 9 billion in 2023 to $26. 1 billion by 2033 at a 15. 2% CAGR, a trajectory that industry leaders say brings both opportunity and risk. Sara Gerke, health law scholar and bioethicist at the Cancer Center at Illinois, warns legal and ethical gaps must be closed as new products collect sensitive data.
Expanding details — market drivers and scale
The Allied Market Research report states the femtech market was valued at $6. 9 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $26. 1 billion by 2033 at a compound annual growth rate of 15. 2% (as published March 5, 2026, ET). The report attributes growth to rising awareness of women’s health issues, increasing prevalence of reproductive and hormonal disorders, advances in digital health and wearable devices, greater adoption of mobile health applications and telemedicine, and increased investment in women-centric solutions. By type, the devices segment led market share in 2023, driven by wearable trackers, pelvic health trainers and other connected monitoring tools; by application, reproductive health held the largest share.
The scale and speed of this expansion were central to discussions highlighted on international womens day, when founders and clinicians revisited challenges around funding, stigma and product design for half the population.
Immediate Reactions on International Womens Day
Voices from the sector were direct and pointed. Stiliyana Minkovska, founder and CEO of Matrix Health and Care, said: “Women’s health is public health is human health, and it’s also a human right. ” Jane Kennedy, chief business officer at Discovery Park, raised funding inequities: “only 2% of venture capital money goes to female founders. ” Tess Cosad, CEO and co‑founder at Béa Fertility, described cultural friction she confronted while fundraising: “If you can’t pronounce the word ‘vagina’ without stumbling over it, you’re not allowed to invest in this business because honestly enough is enough. ” Those remarks framed the dual picture of momentum and persistent barriers.
On regulation and ethics, Sara Gerke, health law scholar and bioethicist, cautioned that many consumer-facing femtech tools sit outside longstanding health privacy protections: “Many direct-to-consumer women’s health apps fall outside of HIPAA protection, which means the very sensitive data they collect can be vulnerable. ” Gerke added a broader technical caution: “AI tools are prone to bias, particularly when the data they are trained on isn’t representative. ” She urged ethics‑by‑design and early interdisciplinary collaboration between technologists, clinicians and legal experts to reduce harms.
What’s next — policy, investment and design questions
Looking ahead, the sector faces three clear tracks: investors responding to market projections and product demand; regulators and institutions considering stronger privacy and oversight guardrails; and companies adopting ethics‑by‑design and representative data practices. Allied Market Research notes supportive regulatory developments and rising investment are already factors in market growth, while Gerke and other experts emphasize legal safeguards and careful deployment of AI to prevent bias and data misuse. On international womens day leaders framed these priorities as essential if femtech is to translate market momentum into equitable, safe care.
Expect continued public and institutional scrutiny, further research on clinical outcomes and regulatory discussions in the months ahead; the industry’s next moves will determine whether the projected market expansion advances women’s health without amplifying privacy or equity harms.
