BCG-WEF Project: Closing the Funding Gap in Women’s Health

Women’s Health Investing Outlook

Women’s health represents one of the most undercapitalized opportunities in global health care. Although women and girls make up nearly half the world’s population, women’s health receives just 6% of private investment—and less than 1% flows to companies focused exclusively on women’s health needs. 

Most of the private capital devoted to women’s health is concentrated in just three areas: reproductive health, maternal care, and women’s cancers. This narrow focus has overlooked major areas of unmet need and opportunity across high-burden, high-prevalence conditions that affect women uniquely, differently, and disproportionately, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, menopause, and Alzheimer’s. BCG estimates that improving care in the United States for these four conditions alone could unlock more than $100 billion in market value by 2030.

The problem isn’t demand; it’s a fragmented and underdeveloped ecosystem. Women may live longer than men, but they spend 25% more of their lives in poor health or with a disability. This imbalance affects individual well-being, workforce participation, and long-term economic growth.

Research from the World Economic Forum and BCG examines why this health gap has persisted for so long, identifies barriers that have hindered investment in women’s health, and uncovers areas of untapped investment potential.

The analysis uncovers six high-potential investment opportunities in women’s health, including women’s cancer therapeutics, virtual women’s health care and benefits management, remote maternal health monitoring, women-focused mental health platforms, women-first longevity and wellness concierge services, and wearable devices and platforms for metabolic health.

The research also introduces the Women’s Health Investment Index, a digital tool that clarifies the investment landscape by illuminating where capital is—and is not—flowing in women’s health. Inspired by the Climate Policy Initiative’s work in climate finance, the index maps five years of private-sector investment across therapeutic areas, sectors, and deal types.

What’s Needed Now

Multiple stakeholders, including investors, industry leaders, researchers, innovators, policymakers, regulators, payers, and providers, must align on a shared agenda grounded in data, equity, and commercial viability.
To unlock the next era of women’s health investment, targeted, multistakeholder action is required across six fronts:

1. Build a demand-driven evidence base. Fund sex-specific research and real-world outcomes to de-risk innovation pipelines.
2. Mobilize blended capital. Use public, private, and philanthropic financing to bridge early-stage gaps and attract private investment.
3. Modernize regulation and clinical endpoints. Establish sex-specific endpoints and streamline approvals to accelerate market entry.
4. Expand reimbursement. Create predictable revenue models across health care services and life stages.
5. Engage adjacent players. Encourage health care incumbents to integrate women’s health into broader strategies.
6. Increase transparency. Share data on clinical outcomes, economic returns, and market dynamics to build investor confidence.

While still modest, investment in women’s health is beginning to expand beyond early-stage and mission-driven backers, with participation from venture, private equity, and institutional capital pointing to the emergence of a more durable investment base.

But significant white space remains across therapeutic areas and delivery models. The challenge now is not identifying the need, but mobilizing capital, coordinating stakeholders, and committing to sustained action.