As you know, the ethics of digital technology and everything that comes packaged with it (being it AI, or startup culture), is a topic that is very important to me. The reason is simply that I am convinced that it will be the defining issue of the fate of this and next generations.
Technology is not inherently good or bad. You can use a laser to play music, or guide bombs, depending on what you think is important. Tech is not a silver bullet that, applied to something, automatically solves everything (or anything, for that matter).
One of such problems technology is not solving by itself is inequality. And as the market is looking for new ways to expand revenue, it is turning its head to an already lucrative field: Female Health.
Female health products is a big economic issue, the global market is poised to break the 50 billion USD barrier in the year 2025.
There’s a thing called “The Pink Tax”: Overall, women are paying 8% more for health products, even if the women’s version of the product is the same as the one for men.
Then, of course, there are health products only women need, and their associated costs.
And now there’s femtech, a part of the startup scene consisting of more or less 200 companies that are focussing on female health and technology.
There’s good stuff and bad stuff here. The good stuff is without question that since most of these companies are led by women, female entrepreneurs, makers, engineers and scientists get more visibility, and hopefully soon will also get more share of global startup investments.
The bad stuff is that these valuations are based on the expectation of a growing market - which raises the question: Are those startups trying to level the field and combat the “pink tax”, or are they actually just asking the question: And how can we cash in on this inequality?
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