There are moments in our industry when someone speaks, and the room collectively leans in. That was certainly the case at Nicholas Hall’s European CHC Conference 2025 in Paris, when Jennifer Cooper, Chief Scientific Officer at Leadpoint Solutions, took the stage for her keynote, “Beyond the Basics: Advancing Women’s Health Through Science & Innovation.”

Her talk didn’t just dissect the deep-rooted gender gaps in healthcare, it called on every one of us in the room, whether from marketing, brand, or medical backgrounds, to confront bias, embrace empathy, and drive meaningful change.

Cooper painted a stark picture: although women live longer than men, they spend 25% more of their lives in poor health. They’re more likely to suffer adverse drug reactions, less likely to be represented in clinical trials, and far slower to receive diagnoses for a range of chronic conditions, from heart disease to autoimmune disorders.

Her point was clear – the health system, by default, is designed for men. And while many of us in branding and product design aren’t involved in clinical protocols, we are part of the ecosystem that reinforces these biases through how we design, communicate, and sell.

We must do better.

Cooper acknowledged the impressive growth of FemTech, now a $30 billion market and expanding fast. Innovation is thriving in areas like menopause, fertility, and menstruation tracking. But, she warned, the industry is still hovering around the most obvious differentiators.

“Menopause, PMS, pregnancy—these dominate the shelves,” she said. “But they’re just a fraction of what defines women’s health.”

True innovation means expanding into cardiovascular health, metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal issues, mental wellbeing, and pain management – all of which present differently in women. These are spaces crying out for tailored, science-backed, and respectfully branded solutions.

As someone in branding, I found her message especially resonant. Cooper criticised the industry’s habit of slapping pink labels on male-first products and calling them “for women.” She challenged us to go deeper. To build with understanding, not assumptions.

She highlighted standout examples like Nurofen’s “My Pain” campaign, which reframes how women’s pain is understood and validated. But she also challenged the room: Where are the champions for stress? For sleep? For bloating, IBS, or autoimmune conditions in women?

Designing for women is not about soft tones and feminine flourishes. It’s about relevance, insight, and respect.

Perhaps the most striking part of Cooper’s presentation was her hard-nosed economic argument. Closing the gender health gap isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s commercially compelling. Countries that invest in women’s health could see up to tenfold return on investment. In the UK, a £30M investment in gynecological health alone could return billions.

As she put it, “Even if you’re not driven by equity, be driven by opportunity. Because there is a huge one here.”

As we sat in the heart of Paris, surrounded by some of the biggest names in consumer health, Cooper’s message couldn’t have been more timely or more urgent.

We are no longer in an era where we can afford to ignore the female perspective – or to simplify it. From product development to positioning, from funding to formulation, women’s health deserves bold, informed, and beautifully executed innovation.

At Free The Birds, we talk often about design that elevates. What Cooper reminded us is that elevation must be rooted in insight and empathy. The future of women’s health isn’t just about better products – it’s about redefining what better really means.

Let’s move beyond the basics. The opportunity and the responsibility is ours.