Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression,2 with many experiencing mood symptoms related to hormone changes during puberty, pregnancy, and perimenopause.
However, many targeted interventions fall prey to the politics of “bikini medicine”, a term coined by cardiologist Dr Nanette Wenger in the 1980s to describe the tendency for discourse around women’s health to focus on the breasts and reproductive organs, and neglect the rest of the body.
Another phenomenon brands should be aware of is “pinkwashing”, a term coined by Breast Cancer Action3 in 2002 to describe the activities of a “company or organisation that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures, and/or sells products containing chemicals that are linked to the disease”.
As Elena Kalodner-Martin, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, explains in Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal,4 pinkwashing “is no longer just about the pink ribbon icon, but the larger corporate movement that relies on gendered expectations to further a narrow medical agenda”.
“As a group, [women] have very good reasons to not trust your marketing,” said Kleiner. “I think there's a huge trust gap – not just in general, but that [a product] is for my body. That [brands] understand my body.”
What can brands do to ensure they avoid these pitfalls?
Abrahams said companies could start understanding women “by eliciting feedback from them directly, not doing desk research; acknowledging that there is a lack of research owing to a historic lack of representation; and speaking to nutrition experts before making claims or assumptions”.
As a group, [women] have very good reasons to not trust your marketing
She added: “We have known for ages that menstruation and menopause are key changes that can affect nutritional status, but companies did not think to invest in it. The body of research is growing, and brands need to leverage this.”
Dr Colleen Fogarty Draper, co-founder and CEO of PhenomX Health, a femtech pioneer in perimenopausal health and nutrition, agreed that it was crucial “to make sure companies are talking to their female consumers about these topics, to learn where their real needs are and how they can create products women can identify with”.
The less taboo the topic, the more women will talk about the issues openly and find ways to demand more research and the right kinds of products
However, she said the very first step was creating awareness; she pointed to the power of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where influencers can openly address topics like menstruation and menopause.
“The less taboo the topic, the more women will talk about the issues openly and find ways to demand more research and the right kinds of products,” she added.
Kleiner said education and relationship-building were key. “When I'm working with my clients, they trust me and will try products when I say, ‘This is really the best way for you to get to where you're going’,” she said. “Companies need people like me speaking to their audience. They need to lean into educational marketing in a very big way.”
She added: “The companies that are paying for research, that have data, they will be able to speak to it – even if the data are no different than for men.
“Many brands that I will consult with will say, what do you think [we are] going to find if we do research? Is it going to be any different than what we already know? But even if it's the same, it gives you marketing.
“It's not an investment in research that's going to show a positive outcome – it's investment in research. It shows you are authentic. Because otherwise, if you're not investing and you just want to sell us something, we don't trust you.”
Research shows how, in many areas of healthcare, women experience poorer outcomes than men. Politicians in the UK, for example, have called for urgent action after it was found to have the largest female health gap in the G205 and the 12th largest globally.
Meanwhile, US research has found that women are more likely to suffer adverse side effects from medications because dosages have historically been based on clinical trials conducted on men.6 Owing to the significant physiological differences between men and women, the US-based National Institutes of Health (NIH) has urged scientists to include more women in clinical studies.
This is a particular problem for the sports nutrition sector, according to Kleiner. “I don't want to inhibit anybody from doing research – the more research, the better,” she said. “But it really does have to be good methodology, developed with the female body and physiology and metabolism in mind. Don't make it up as you go and pretend like you're doing something for everyone that just isn't for everyone. If you're trying to study ‘how does this affect all women?’, then you need to get all different kinds of women.”
She said tone was another crucial factor: “It's a more holistic message, I think, to women, than we've had to give to men.”
