Closing the gender gap in healthcare: a medical imperative and a financial opportunity worth trillion

• For every dollar invested in women’s health, three dollars are generated in economic benefits and growth, according to the World Economic Forum 

• Improving healthcare for women could have a positive impact of up to $1 trillion annually by reducing healthcare costs and increasing productivity 

• Innovation in women’s health is set to transform the system, yet it still faces funding barriers 

• Women experience a higher prevalence of chronic diseases, receive fewer accurate diagnoses, and have less access to specific treatments than men 

Gender inequality in healthcare continues to cost lives and results in the inefficient use of resources, while innovation aimed at addressing this issue remains underfunded. This was one of the key messages shared during the event FemTech: InnPulsing Women’s Health, held today at the initiative of EIT Health Spain Foundation, a Co-Location Centre (regional hub) of EIT Health, which is part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. 

Despite women having a longer life expectancy than men, they live with a lower quality of life and a higher burden of disease. According to the EU Gender Equality Index1, women have a greater prevalence of chronic diseases, receive fewer accurate diagnoses, and have less access to targeted treatments. The session concluded that innovation and entrepreneurship are ready to transform women’s healthcare, but without investment and policy changes, this opportunity will be lost. 

The event featured María Carol, Head of Environment, Social, and Governance at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona and a member of the hospital’s Clinical Commission on Health, Sex, and Gender, which implements policies with a gender perspective in research, training and care activities at the Catalan centre, and Marina Rigau, co-founder of MiMARK Diagnostics, S.L., a spin-off of Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research specialising in the development of advanced diagnostic tools to improve the detection of gynaecological diseases. The session was moderated by Ángeles Barrios, Head of Public Affairs at EIT Health Spain. 

Economic evidence is clear: for every dollar invested in women’s health, three dollars are generated in economic benefits and growth. Improving healthcare for women could have a positive impact of up to $1 trillion annually2 by reducing avoidable healthcare costs and increasing productivity. These were some of the key data points presented at the event, which explored how innovation and entrepreneurship can drive solutions to reduce gender disparities in healthcare within a system that still fails to adequately consider differences between men and women. 

“The healthcare system must adapt to sex-based differences rather than treating them as secondary concerns. At Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, we are integrating gender perspectives into clinical practice, research, and medical education because gender inequality in health is a structural issue that we must address,” stated María Carol. 

“The lack of gender perspective in medical care has direct consequences for women’s health. For example, cardiovascular diseases are still considered a male problem, despite being the leading cause of death among women in Europe. This results in their symptoms being overlooked and receiving later and less effective treatment. In oncology, endometrial cancer still relies on invasive and error-prone diagnostic methods, while endometriosis takes between eight and ten years to be diagnosed, severely affecting patients’ quality of life. In pharmacology, women are 50% more likely to experience adverse drug reactions because clinical trials have historically been based on the male body. Without equitable research and updated clinical protocols, these disparities will persist,” Carol emphasised. 

One of the main issues is that the majority of health professionals still do not receive training in gender-sensitive health. “If doctors are unaware that heart attacks present differently in women than in men or that a drug may have different effects depending on sex, they will continue to apply inappropriate treatments. It is crucial to include these differences in medical curricula and update clinical protocols accordingly,” she added. 

Since 2021, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau has had a Clinical Committee on Health, Sex, and Gender, created to integrate gender perspectives into healthcare and ensure equitable medical treatment. This Committee has connections to all the hospital’s services.  

FemTech: The potential of an untapped market 

The FemTech (Female Technology) sector refers to an innovation and technology area focused on developing solutions to improve women’s health and well-being and has experienced exponential growth in recent years. However, it still faces barriers to attracting investment. “FemTech startups have difficulty accessing funding because investment funds are still predominantly led by men, who often do not understand the problem to be solved and dismiss the market potential of women’s health,” explained Marina Rigau, CEO of MiMARK Diagnostics S.L. “It is paradoxical because we are not talking about a niche market but about more than 50% of the world’s population.” 

MiMARK exemplifies how innovation can transform healthcare. The company has developed a liquid biopsy using gynaecological fluids, which will enable faster, more accurate, and less invasive diagnosis of endometrial cancer. Currently, the startup is recruiting 1,500 patients across 28 hospitals to validate its technology, which is expected to reach the market in 2027. 

“The lack of targeted solutions in women’s health not only impacts patients but also imposes additional costs on healthcare systems. A late diagnosis means more tests, less effective treatments, and higher hospitalisation expenses,” Rigau added. 

 Investing in women’s health: A benefit for all 

The gender gap in health not only affects women’s quality of life but, as discussed at the meeting, has a direct impact on the economy and the sustainability of healthcare systems. It also highlighted how poorly diagnosed or treated diseases in women affect their labour productivity, which impacts countries’ GDP.   

Investment in women’s health innovation has a high return but is still not a priority for many investment funds. “It is urgent to drive entrepreneurship in women’s health to accelerate the introduction of innovative solutions to the market,” said Ángeles Barrios, Head of Public Affairs at EIT Health Spain. “At EIT Health Spain, we support startups that are changing the paradigm of women’s health. That is why we have launched the WHINN (Women’s Health Innovation) initiative, whose first action was a startup and spin-off competition in this field. The initiative has been highly successful, with nearly 30 entrepreneurs presenting their proposals.” 

The five selected finalists will have the opportunity to present their solutions to an audience of investors and healthcare professionals during a special session organised by EIT Health in Valencia on 31st March in collaboration with Valencia Innovation Capital and supported by FENIN. The winning startup will receive a financial award and expert mentorship to refine its solution and accelerate its market entry. 

InnPulso Salud: The forum where healthcare innovation becomes an opportunity 

The event “FemTech: InnPulsing Women’s Health” is one of the key activities of InnPulso Salud, Spain’s leading event for healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship, which will take place on 31st  March and 1st  April in Valencia. InnPulso Salud aims to establish itself as a key platform for driving healthcare system transformation and enhancing the competitiveness of the healthcare sector. Organised by the EIT Health Spain Foundation, the event will bring together EIT Health members, startups, investors, healthcare professionals, and policymakers from across the entire value chain at both national and European levels. 

REFERENCES 

1. European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). Gender Equality Index. Available at: data.europa.eu.
2. McKinsey Health Institute (2024). Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies. Available at: McKinsey.