What you probably already know: Women’s health has long been defined by gaps in clinical research, funding and data. A group of influential leaders in women’s health are working to change that with the launch of the Women’s Health AI Consortium. The effort is led by maternal health pioneer Willow Innovations and EMA IQ, a Silicon Valley-based company that built the first agentic AI for women’s health in 2020. The group also includes executives from Oura, Thrive Global and period-tracking app Clue. It seeks to become the first industry body to establish shared benchmarks, ethical standards and transparent evaluation methods for the use of AI in women’s health.
Why it matters: AI is radically transforming care and is absolutely flooding women’s health, with chatbots seemingly popping up everywhere as survey after survey show trust remains low. Critics have long warned that many algorithms are trained on datasets that underrepresent women or ignore the nuances of female physiology. “Women’s health AI is moving at a pace that demands immediate, coordinated accountability,” says Sarah O’Leary, CEO of Willow, a Chicago-based company that created an in-bra, wearable breast pump selected by TIME as one of its 25 Best Inventions. “This Consortium gives the industry a clear, shared standard, one that is built on evidence, reflects lived experience, and holds every tool accountable to the women it serves.”
What it means: The new group’s framework is built around six standards: ethics and safety; bias reduction and cultural integrity; emotional and clinical quality; contextual intelligence; mentorship and ethical AI; and transparent oversight and continuous improvement. By creating a unified set of benchmarks, the Women’s Health AI Consortium aims to provide a “seal of approval” for both clinicians and consumers in a rapidly crowded market. PwC estimates that women’s health represents a $600 billion-plus opportunity by 2030, especially as underdiagnosed conditions become better identified.
What happens next: The Consortium’s board includes a mix of prominent clinicians and ethicists, including Dr. Tanvi Jayaraman of Oura and Carrot Fertility CEO Dr. Asima Ahmad. Over the next year, member companies will undergo internal audits, and the group plans to lobby federal regulators for clear AI oversight in the Femtech sector. "At Ema, we have seen firsthand how AI can transform women's health outcomes, but only when it is built right," EMA EQ CEO Amanda Ducach says. "We co-founded this Consortium because the stakes are too high to leave standards to chance. Women deserve AI that is clinically safe, culturally aware, and designed with them, not just for them."
