Naomi Watts of Stripes, a menopause solution brand, Alisa Volkman of The Swell, a community for women over 40, and Javaid stressed that care around menopause had been challenging. The three women said sexual health and menopause have gone widely ignored within the health care system — less than 20 percent of doctors are trained in menopause and sexual health, they noted.
While organizations like Stripes and The Swell are providing consumer goods and community spaces for people in this life stage, the standard of care also requires updating, according to Javaid, who added that HerMD provides menopause and sexual health-focused training that will eventually be accessible to providers outside of the practice.
Panelists also discussed equity and legislation within health care, focusing on racial inequities, the lack of women-focused research and censorship within the category. Alexandra Fine, founder of Dame, and Jackie Rottman, founder of the Center for Intimacy Justice, said censorship across platforms including Google ads and Meta makes it difficult to raise brand awareness across the women’s and sexual health categories.