Careers disrupted. Opportunities missed. Women in Canada are often forced to choose between their health and their work. Women make up just about 50% of Canada’s workforce; they lead families and build our communities—yet workplaces were never designed with their realities in mind. The result is not just personal: these gaps have long-term impacts on the Canadian economy, from lost productivity to stalled leadership pipelines and diminished innovation.
At our latest Femtech Canada Roundtable, we explored this intersection with Laure Goubau, Founder, and Fabienne Paye, Strategy Consultant and Digital Business Manager, of Gloria, North America’s first leadership coaching platform for women experiencing health challenges during their careers. Their starting point was simple: women’s careers are often shaped—not by ambition or capability—but by how well they are supported through key life and health transitions.
The unseen impact
The statistics shared in the session painted a clear picture of how health events ripple through a woman’s working life:
- A 2024 Sunlife survey found 60% of women believe menstrual, menopausal, and reproductive health challenges can impact career progression.
- Fertility treatments alone can require upwards of 125 hours over 18 months—without factoring in the emotional toll.
- In a UK study, those experiencing severe menstrual pain lost an average of 9 days of productivity per year.
- In Canada, nearly 2 in 5 women have left or considered leaving their jobs due to perimenopause symptoms.
These numbers connect to a wider gender health gap. Across 900 disorders, women are diagnosed an average of 3.7 years later than men, and they experience 50–75% more adverse drug reactions—a legacy of being excluded from clinical trials for decades. The consequences show up in everyday workplaces, where too often health challenges translate into career setbacks.
Laure shared her own path through burnout, maternity leave, and breast cancer—how each moment forced a recalibration of her identity as a working professional. Her story underscored the central question:
What happens when high-potential careers are quietly reshaped—or stalled entirely—by health events?
Reframing the conversation
The roundtable emphasized how these challenges are too often framed as personal struggles when they are, in fact, structural issues. Without supportive policies, flexible systems, or open dialogue, the burden falls on individual women to make it all work.
But things are shifting. Workplace culture is beginning to adapt—albeit slowly—driven by both human and economic imperatives. Research from McKinsey and Deloitte shows that companies with more women in leadership see stronger returns, better innovation, and improved decision-making. Beyond the business case, supporting women at work has wider societal impact: from financial autonomy to stronger families and communities.
Still, meaningful change takes more than acknowledgment. It takes strategy.
What needs to shift
The conversation pointed to several areas where progress is urgently needed:
- Innovation in women’s health (Femtech): better diagnostics and treatments are critical when so many conditions are still under-researched and underdiagnosed in women.
- Benefits evaluation: determine how—or if—your current benefits coverage meets women’s health needs, and ask women directly through focus groups or employee surveys.
- Policy shifts: menstrual leave, workplace access to health products, and structural support can help counter decades of systemic underinvestment—less than 6% of Canada’s federal health research funding goes to women’s health.
- Culture change: open dialogue and manager awareness are essential to dismantle the stigma that still surrounds women-specific health issues.
- Coaching and leadership development: tailored programs can ensure women are not forced to step back from their careers during times of transition. Leaders in this space like Gloria are helping make this an accessible priority.
Why it matters
This roundtable was a reminder that women should not have to choose between health and career. The impacts of the gender health gap are not abstract—they show up in productivity losses, leadership gaps, and financial strain. Four in ten working women in Canada have reported making career-limiting decisions due to health-related concerns. With women comprising nearly half of the Canadian workforce—and one-quarter of it over the age of 40—the ripple effects are profound.
For women themselves, these choices may permanently alter their career trajectories, with long-term effects on earnings, retirement security, and financial independence. For employers, the costs include the loss of experienced workers at the height of their careers, increased absenteeism, and reduced productivity.
By centering health in leadership development, we can build workplaces where women thrive fully—and where organizations benefit from their innovation, resilience, and leadership. McKinsey has estimated that closing the women’s health gap could unlock a $1-trillion opportunity for the global economy. For Canada, the message is clear: supporting women’s health is not only a moral imperative—it is an economic necessity.
At Femtech Canada, we are proud to hold space for these conversations and to spotlight leaders like Gloria who are reshaping the future of work and health.