Vaginal Microbiome Startup Evvy Launches "100 Effed Facts on the Gender Health Gap" Coffee Table Book for Equal Research Day

News provided by

Jun 10, 2024, 10:00 ET

To celebrate the third annual Equal Research Day, Evvy has compiled 100 shocking truths about the state of women's health and partnered with 46 healthtech companies to raise awareness for gender inequalities in medical research & care.

NEW YORK, June 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Evvy, a female-founded vaginal microbiome startup, today announces the launch of its limited-edition coffee table book, 100 Effed Facts About the Gender Health Gap, as part of its third annual Equal Research Day campaign. The book consists of 100 shocking statistics about the gaps in women's healthcare across 12 categories: Autoimmune Disease, Brain + Mental Health, Cancer, Endometriosis, Fertility, Maternal Health, Heart Health, Hormonal Health, Medical Gaslighting, Menopause, Menstrual + Sexual Health, and Vaginal + Urinary Health.

Male bodies have always been the default, from office air conditioning to crash test dummies. But nowhere is that default more dangerous than in medical research. To this day, women are still diagnosed on average 4 years later than men across hundreds of diseases. They're more likely to die from heart attacks, react poorly to prescription drugs, and have their pain and symptoms dismissed by doctors. This gender health gap is rooted in the fact that women weren't required in US clinical research until June 10th, 1993. That's why Evvy made June 10th into Equal Research Day — think Equal Pay Day but for closing the gender health gap.

"100 Effed Facts on the Gender Health Gap is more than a book—it's a call to action," said Laine Bruzek, Co-founder & Chief Marketing Officer of Evvy. "By highlighting these shocking statistics, we hope to raise awareness for the systemic and widespread barriers to equal healthcare, and to motivate our community to demand the equal research that women and people with vaginas deserve."

While the gaps in women's health research are finally being elevated to the national stage with the Biden Administration's Women's Health Initiative, we are far from reaching equal representation and reversing the effects accumulated over decades of inequality. 100 Effed Facts About the Gender Health Gap represents a partial list of the ways that female bodies have been left behind by modern medicine and is designed intentionally with black & white holes on each page to visually represent the gaps in our scientific and medical understanding of the female body. 100% of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Women's Health Access Matters (WHAM) to help accelerate women's research and funding.

"In the age of 'AI in healthcare,' women are being left behind. We simply don't have enough data on the female body," said Priyanka Jain, Co-Founder & CEO of Evvy. "At Evvy, we're unlocking precision female healthcare by researching female biomarkers, starting with the vaginal microbiome. We started Equal Research Day because we know we can't do it alone. We need innovators, doctors, educators, lawmakers, researchers, and patients working together to close the gender health gap for good."

As part of this year's campaign, Evvy is partnering with 46 healthtech companies that are innovating in each of the 12 categories to showcase their work in equal research and healthcare. Evvy will also be donating $1 to WHAM for every Instagram post that tags @Evvy and #EqualResearchDay during the month of June (up to $1,993).

To learn more about the campaign, see the full list of partner companies, and buy the book, please visit equalresearchday.com.

About Evvy:
Evvy is closing the gender health gap by leveraging overlooked female biomarkers, starting with the vaginal microbiome. The Evvy Vaginal Health Test is the world's first CLIA-certified, at-home vaginal microbiome test, and tests for 700+ bacteria and fungi with a single swab, including those related to bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, recurrent UTIs and much more. Evvy's larger vaginal healthcare platform is the first to combine state-of-the-art microbiome testing, precision clinical care, and coaching to give women and people with vaginas the care they deserve. Through this platform, Evvy is building real-world datasets that can transform our understanding of complex female health conditions.

Founded by Priyanka Jain, Laine Bruzek, and Pita Navarro, the Evvy team includes scientists, designers, doctors, and entrepreneurs, including a group of leading OB/GYNs, and vaginal microbiome researchers with decades of experience at organizations like UCSF, Stanford, Harvard, and more.

SOURCE Evvy