Womens Health Investment Outlook 2026

Introduction Underinvestment limits evidence and innovation, reinforcing the perception that funding women’s health is high-risk. Even though women represent nearly half the global population and make the majority of household healthcare decisions,5,6 women’s specific health needs are chronically underfunded. Women tend to live longer than men but spend 25% more of their lives in poor health or with a disability,7 a disparity that erodes individual well-being and dampens economic productivity. This burden extends far beyond reproductive and maternal health. Many diseases and conditions affect women uniquely, differently and disproportionately. Cardiovascular disease (CVD), for example, is the leading cause of death among women,8,9 yet is often misdiagnosed because clinical standards historically have been based on male physiology.10,11 Autoimmune disorders disproportionately affect women,12 and an estimated 1 in 10 women self-reports missing work due to menopause-related symptoms.13 Collectively, women lose an estimated 75 million years of healthy life each year, equivalent to a week of health lost per woman per year.14 Closing this gap is a public health imperative – and it can also unlock substantial economic and social returns.15 A large, underserved private market with significant commercial opportunity While women’s health has attracted only 6% of private healthcare capital over the past five years, the imbalance becomes even more pronounced in sectors such as health tech, where women’s health companies captured just 2% of $41.2 billion in venture health-tech funding in 2023.16 Funding gaps persist in research, as well. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for men-dominant diseases is approximately two times higher than for women-dominant diseases.17 Five conditions unique to or prevalent in women (endometriosis, maternal health, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menopause and cervical cancer) account for 14% of the female disease burden but have received less than 1% of relevant research funding in recent years.18 What’s more, men’s health has long been the default baseline for research and product development, with clinical standards, trial designs and innovation pipelines often calibrated to male physiology and needs.19 This approach systematically sidelines conditions that affect women uniquely, differently or disproportionately, leaving critical areas underfunded, under-researched and underserved. Without a robust understanding of women’s underlying biology, it’s harder to build, validate and scale effective products for women. This evidence gap drives a perception of higher investment risk and lower return on investment, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of underinvestment. Yet the commercial potential is significant. BCG research shows that proper screening and better care for US women for just four conditions – menopause, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular disease – could unlock more than $100 billion in market value.20 The momentum: Early signs of scale In recent years, funding for women’s health has come from a broad mix of investors, including early- stage and mission-driven groups. –Venture capital: In 2024, women’s health start- ups raised $2.6 billion – up 55% from the prior year.21 Including conditions that disproportionately affect women, the total reached $10.7 billion,22 signalling that women’s health is breaking into mainstream venture portfolios. –Institutional investors: In 2022, institutional and private investors23 invested more than $1 billion in women’s digital health companies. –Philanthropy: In 2025, the Gates Foundation pledged $2.5 billion over five years to accelerate women’s health research and development (R&D)24 – the largest philanthropic commitment the foundation has made towards women’s health – targeting underfunded areas such as menstrual, reproductive and maternal health. –Private equity (PE): Investors are driving consolidation in fertility care, bringing smaller clinics together under larger networks, with nearly all large in vitro fertilization (IVF) networks now PE-backed.25 –Blended finance and catalytic capital: Global partnerships are piloting risk-sharing models that blend donor, public and private funds to create catalysts for new investment in women’s and girls’ health.26 In women’s cancer care, guarantees and concessional capital are unlocking private participation in areas once deemed too risky.27 Women’s Health Investment Outlook 6