From ovulation and reproductive trackers to contraceptive microchips, in recent years, there has been a surge of digital health products marketed to women. Known as “femtech” or female technology, this rapidly evolving global industry is expected to be worth US$60 billion (£44 billion) by 2027.
Many of us are already used to apps or devices managing many aspects of our lives. And at a time when regular access to doctors has been limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems more women have turned to technology for their healthcare. Indeed, data company Fermata recently calculated that in the last six months of 2020 alone the number of companies under the femtech umbrella grew from 369 to 581, across 36 countries.
These digital health products are part of a much larger realm of “embodied technologies”, that allow users to have awareness of their bodily rhythms and functions in a way that seems safe, intimate, and empowering. Yet such products do not always offer an accessible privacy policy or commitment to protect women’s data from being sold on to third parties.
Continue reading: https://theconversation.com/womens-health-technology-could-be-so-much-more-than-period-trackers-172576
Many of us are already used to apps or devices managing many aspects of our lives. And at a time when regular access to doctors has been limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems more women have turned to technology for their healthcare. Indeed, data company Fermata recently calculated that in the last six months of 2020 alone the number of companies under the femtech umbrella grew from 369 to 581, across 36 countries.
These digital health products are part of a much larger realm of “embodied technologies”, that allow users to have awareness of their bodily rhythms and functions in a way that seems safe, intimate, and empowering. Yet such products do not always offer an accessible privacy policy or commitment to protect women’s data from being sold on to third parties.
Continue reading: https://theconversation.com/womens-health-technology-could-be-so-much-more-than-period-trackers-172576
