Health to wealth: The economic impact of investing in women's health research with WHAM - Ep. 211

FemTech Focus

In this episode, we talk to Carolee Lee, Founder and CEO of Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM). We discuss the need for more female-specific research in autoimmune, heart disease, brain health, and cancer, the returns to the economy when women’s health is invested in, and the best ways for femhealth founders to influence policymakers.

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Guest bio

Carolee is an innovator, entrepreneur and thought leader dedicated to improving women’s health and wellbeing, and their opportunities to succeed.

After the sale of her accessories business, Carolee focused her energies on women’s health and life planning. In 2008, she founded AccessCircles, a global, by-invitation network committed to bringing women access to leaders, resources and experiences that can help transform their lives. Carolee then launched WHAM in July 2018, as an initiative to focus on increasing awareness of women’s health issues, investing in women’s health research and implementing strategies to improve the inequities and bias in research while accelerating scientific discovery.

Organization bio

Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM), a 501(c)(3), was launched by Carolee Lee in July 2018 as an initiative to focus on increasing awareness of women’s health issues, investing in women’s health research and implementing strategies to improve the inequities and bias in research while accelerating scientific discovery. A board of 25 leading businesswomen supported and steer this initiative. The Connors Center at Brigham/Harvard is WHAM’s Lead Scientific Partner.

Women’s health is an economic issue we can’t afford to ignore. WHAM works to increase awareness of and funding for women’s health research by accelerating scientific discovery in women’s health in four

primary disease verticals – autoimmune disease, brain health, cancer, and heart health. The WHAM Report quantifies the economic opportunity for investing in women’s health, looking across diseases that impact women differently and differentially.

FemTech Focus Podcast bio

The FemTech Focus Podcast is brought to you by FemHealth Insights, the leader in Women’s Health market research and consulting. In this show, Dr. Brittany Barreto hosts meaningfully provocative conversations that bring FemTech experts - including doctors, scientists, inventors, and founders - on air to talk about the innovative technology, services, and products (collectively known as FemTech) that are improving women's health and wellness. Though many leaders in FemTech are women, this podcast is not specifically about female founders, nor is it geared toward a specifically female audience. The podcast gives our host, Dr. Brittany Barreto, and guests an engaging, friendly environment to learn about the past, present, and future of women’s health and wellness.

FemHealth Insights bio

Led by a team of analysts and advisors who specialize in female health, FemHealth Insights is a female health-specific market research and analysis firm, offering businesses in diverse industries unparalleled access to the comprehensive data and insights needed to illuminate areas of untapped potential in the nuanced women’s health market.

Time Stamps

[03:03] Carolee’s background

[07:08] Women drive economies

[08:04] The WHAM Report

[11:00] The four verticals

[12:53] Areas that WHAM is supporting research in

[15:55] Calculating the economic impact of health

[18:43] Understanding the influence of women

[19:48] How to get policymakers to make change

[20:59] The experience of going to Congress to make change

[22:36] Gender differences in receptiveness to WHAM’s mission

[24:50] WHAM’s future goals for Government

[29:28] WHAM’s goal for the next 3 years

[31:32] An area of Women’s Health that still needs innovating

[33:05] What femtech needs the most in order to be successful (aside from funding)

Remember...

Read The WHAM report and check out their #3not30 campaign.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the FemTech Focus podcast, and leave us a review!

Episode Contributors

Carolee Lee

LinkedIn: @Carolee Lee

Twitter: @caroleewham

Dr. Brittany Barreto

LinkedIn: @Brittany Barreto, Ph.D.

Twitter: @DrBrittB

Instagram: @drbrittanybarreto

WHAM

Website: https://whamnow.org/

LinkedIn: @Women’s Health Access Matters

Instagram: @whamnow

Twitter: @WHAMnow

FemTech Focus Podcast

Website: https://femtechfocus.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/femtechfocus

Twitter: @FemTech_Focus

Instagram: @femtechfocus

FemHealth Insights

Website: https://www.femhealthinsights.com/

LinkedIn: @FemHealth Insights

Megan Fuller (Show Producer)

LinkedIn: @Megan Fuller