UNFPA Equity 2030 Alliance names Femtech Canada Co-Lead of Global Technology Cluster
VANCOUVER, BC — November 20, 2025 — The 2025 Femtech Canada Forum convened leading voices from across policy, academia, industry, and global health organizations for a critical conversation on building Canada’s femtech advantage—an economic opportunity valued at more than $37 billion for Canada’s economy. Featuring experts from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Sun Life, Deloitte Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), this year’s event marked an important step forward in advancing women’s health through innovation.
Hosted by Femtech Canada with title sponsor Sun Life, and event sponsor Deloitte Canada, the event focused on the urgent need to align research, policy, and commercialization efforts to close the gender health gap.
A highlight of the Forum was the announcement that Femtech Canada will join the Equity 2030 Alliance as a member and Co-Lead of the Technology Cluster. Femtech Canada is the first organization to assume a Cluster Co-Lead role within the Alliance, positioning it to help translate global collaboration into measurable progress for women’s health, equity, and economic opportunity.
“We are excited to welcome Femtech Canada as a Co-Lead of the Technology Cluster,” said Dr. Nigina Muntean, Chief of the Innovation and Transformation Branch, UNFPA. “Their leadership will help accelerate gender-equitable technology development and strengthen collective efforts to advance women’s health and wellbeing worldwide.”
“Femtech Canada is honored to join the UNFPA Equity 2030 Alliance as Co-Lead of the Technology Cluster,” said Andrea Guest, Senior Manager, Femtech Canada. “By aligning our ecosystem work with the Alliance’s global mandate, we can accelerate the design and adoption of technologies that truly serve women’s health.”
The Femtech Forum featured an engaging agenda, anchored by exclusive report launches and high-impact discussions on how Canada can seize its femtech advantage. Key moments from the event included:
- Deloitte Canada, in collaboration with the IWK Foundation, unveiled “The Case for Advancing Women’s Health in Canada”, a report highlighting the need to update Canada’s Women’s Health Strategy. In a presentation led by Zahra Jivan (Deloitte Canada) and Heather Creighton (IWK Foundation), the report outlines policy gaps, economic opportunities, and recommendations to drive equitable outcomes for Canadian women and unlock national prosperity.
- Further grounding the call for reform, PeriPharm and Duchesnay released a joint white paper exposing two decades of market access challenges for innovative women’s health medications in Canada. Presented by Catherine Beauchemin and Maggie Dong of PeriPharm, the report underscores barriers to treatment access and offers data-driven strategies for regulatory reform and timely treatment prioritization.
- A fireside chat with Dr. Lori Brotto (Women’s Health Research Institute) and Hilary Kilgour (Audaxa Ventures) explored the path from research to commercialization with a focus on the next generation of evidence-driven entrepreneurs in femtech.
- The closing panel, moderated by Laura Maxwell (Sun Life), featured Dr. Angela Kaida (CIHR), Jessica Chalk (myStoria), Mallorie Bronfman-Thomas (Equity 2030 Alliance, UNFPA), and Stephanie Gan (Health Emergency Readiness Canada). The discussion urged stakeholders to embed gender equity throughout the innovation lifecycle—from research and product development to commercialization—emphasizing the need for inclusive data practices, investment, and stronger pathways for bringing women’s health solutions to market.
“This Forum helps us form the roadmap to move from talk to tangible action,” added Guest. “We’re done talking about ‘potential’ and are now focused on the collective work to make Canada’s femtech advantage a world-leading reality.”
As the flagship event for Femtech Canada, the Forum is held annually in different Canadian cities to catalyze regional and national growth. This year’s gathering in Vancouver underscored that advancing progress toward closing the gender health gap is not only a moral imperative but also one of Canada’s greatest untapped opportunities for innovation, productivity, and inclusive growth—demanding national coordination and positioning women’s health as a key economic growth strategy.
About Femtech Canada
Femtech Canada is a national network dedicated to advancing women’s health technology by connecting femtech companies with essential resources and visibility. Through strategic networking, business advisory support, mentorship and a dynamic online community, Femtech Canada inspires entrepreneurs and researchers to pioneer technologies that improve the lives of women and end-users across the country. Operated by Innovation Factory, Femtech Canada is committed to fostering intentional, intersectional, and inclusive growth in the sector by advocating to close the longstanding gaps in women’s health—a field historically under-served, under-researched, and under-funded.
About Innovation Factory
Innovation Factory is a not-for-profit business accelerator, serving as the catalyst for technology innovation in Ontario since 2010. Innovation Factory provides business services, training, mentorship, and strategic connections to drive market adoption, leverage intellectual property, and increase revenues, investment, and jobs. Innovators can also access sector-specific resources including exclusive smart transportation test environments and data; and a formal life science and health innovation ecosystem.
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