Tech Data and Your Voice: Closing the Gender Gap in Women’s Health

Published on March 12, 2025 • Written by Glow Getter Team

Women's health concerns have been underrepresented in medical research and technology for decades.

Tech Data and Your Voice: Closing the Gender Gap in Women’s Health

You don’t have to look far to see what we mean. Fitness trackers, for example, are designed and calibrated primarily for the male body. Sadly, for us ladies, that means our fitness trackers probably don’t take into account a woman’s usual fluctuations, such as heart rate changes during her menstrual cycle. Like many generic tech devices and studies, there is a male default.

And that isn’t just inaccurate—it can lead to dangerous recommendations. A fitness tracker that doesn’t account for changes in heart rate during the menstrual cycle might prompt women to overexert themselves.

But there’s good news! A movement is taking off, and a remarkable shift is happening: women-focused health technology (along with women bravely sharing their personal experiences) is closing the gender gap. And women’s health is thriving in 2025!

Narrowing the Gender Data Gap

Medical research has historically treated the male body as the default human model. Despite women making up roughly half the population, clinical trials still lean male. A 2021 study by the Journal of Women’s Health found that women represented only 41% of participants. (That sure doesn’t sound like half to us.)

Unfortunately, these disparities in clinical trials create a missing link in understanding how diseases, medications, and treatments affect women differently from men. And this gap in data means that women are more likely to experience delayed diagnoses, misdiagnoses, and adverse reactions to drugs.

Data Technology Built for Women, By Women

But thanks to a wave of female entrepreneurs and researchers stepping up to address these gender data gaps and inequities, women-focused health data and health tech are offering new hope for women looking to take control of their bodies and overall health.

Through targeted health technologies, companies are now developing products specifically calibrated and designed for women's bodies and health needs. Products like Incora Health’s “smart earrings” that can track key female-specific vitals.

As Lindsey Calcutt, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Incora Health, points out, these technologies can be both "functional" and "beautiful" while providing "more personalized and relevant health data" than generic alternatives. Furthermore, this testing can provide much-needed data about women, an essential part of advancing women’s health research.

A Voice in the Matter: Breaking the Silence

Technology isn't the only driving force in changing women's health. Public awareness and normalizing conversations surrounding women’s health have also moved the needle significantly. Women are more outspoken about their issues, particularly issues about infertility (affecting 17.5% of the adult population), miscarriage (15-20% confirmed pregnancies), and painful periods or “dysmenorrhea” (affecting over 80% of women).

Open discussions like these help destigmatize women’s health issues, leading to a greater understanding of:

How common these conditions are, so women feel less isolated and can seek care without shame.
Why treating these conditions is so important, which helps narrow the medical gap through women-focused studies and improved healthcare.

Celebrities and public figures have a huge platform to share these experiences—and they have! Take Naomi Watts for example. CNN recognized Watts as one of their 2024 “Risk Takers.” Why? Because she spoke up about her very personal experience with menopause, which affects all menstruating women, chipping away at the stigma barrier. By simply choosing to break her silence and share her menopause journey, Naomi Watts gave more women permission to do so without fear or judgment.

Looking Forward: 2025 and Beyond

2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for health technology. Using technology as a tool has been a consistent trend for quite a while now. But it’s becoming even more prevalent, especially in women’s wellness. Today, we have everything from tech that improves our sleep cycles to apps that challenge our brains.

Yet… women’s health and wellness have surged forward even faster, creating a timely opportunity to close the gender data gap. By supporting female-focused innovations and companies—who, in turn, contribute to further female-focused research and clinical trials (with gasp! all-female participants—imagine that!)—we can ensure that our health concerns and needs are met.

The combination of better data, thoughtful technology, and open conversation promises to transform women's healthcare from an afterthought to a priority. And that's a positive trend worth celebrating.