(The original article in Japanese was posted on September 16, 2022)

On September 13, Yano Research Institute held a seminar on gendered innovations in collaboration with its business partner, “Woman’s” (Kabushiki Kaisha Double Collection), a women’s healthcare marketing company. The number of participants was 856, which indicated the high level of interest of industry in this field. “Gendered innovations” is a relatively new concept proposed by Londa Schiebinger of Stanford University, in the United States in 2005, which may be new a word to many people. “Gendered innovations” means studying the gender differences biologically and sociologically to create an equal society with no disadvantages caused by the differences.

At the seminar, Yuki Shimizu, Executive Researcher of our company, presented a report about the current status of the FemTech market based on the following research results: a. The market opportunities have been expanding in the current situation where social concern about health issues specific to women has been growing; b. The domestic FemTech market size in 2020 was 59.7 billion yen excluding the fields of medical services and ethical pharmaceuticals, with a year-on-year growth rate of 103.9%; c. The domestic market size expanded to 63.6 billion yen in 2021, with a year-on-year growth rate of 106.5% because the number of market players and the number of market categories to enter have increased; d. On the other hand, men’s understanding of women’s health issues has still not been sufficient and there still remain some issues with regard to women’s health literacy, and it is likely to take more time before proper understanding becomes widespread in the whole society; and e. However, the trend of gendered innovations is accelerating mainly in Europe and the U.S., and this trend is popular in Japan as well.

Hatsumi Yano, Senior Researcher of our company, was a next speaker. She introduced examples of product development that focuses on gender differences. Such products include a large truck designed for female drivers that is equipped with easier driving operation and higher protection of privacy in the cabin, and a height-adjustable built-in kitchen that is designed with men’s height and usability in mind, while most kitchen units are designed based on the average height of women. These products are good examples that help to eliminate people’s biased view of “driving trucks is what men should do, and cooking is what women should do” to expand the market and improve the convenience of users. This speech suggested that there is also the MaleTech market having the same market size behind the FemTech market. It is no wonder that Shimizu estimated that “The size of the potential gendered innovations market is 10 trillion yen!”

At the same time, studying the gender differences comes with some risks. First, the study could be used as a statement to rationalize the regression to the patriarchal society. Second, analysis of gender differences could easily bring in genetic elements such as ethnicity and races. In order to avoid such misunderstanding, I would emphasize that gender-based marketing is simply a method to realize the society where individuals feel comfortable to live, and therefore, it does not conflict with the ideas of “gender-neutral” or “genderless.” What should be done and what can be done to accept diversity and be aware of the differences between individuals so as to eliminate inequality and loss of opportunities arising from gender differences? Yano Research Institute will continuously make efforts to spread the trend of gendered innovations from such viewpoints.

This Week’s Focus, September 16, 2022

Takashi Mizukoshi, the President