Women We Admire: Marina Gerner

In this edition of Women We Admire, we're thrilled to spotlight Marina Gerner, an award-winning journalist and author of The Vagina Business: The Innovative Breakthroughs That Could Change Everything in Women's Health. Marina’s journey into femtech journalism began with persistence—after being told women's health innovation was "too niche," she refused to back down.

Read on as Marina shares the inspiration behind her work, the obstacles she's overcome, and the advice she has for women navigating their own journeys.

What first inspired you to write The Vagina Business?

I’m a journalist and when I first tried to write about innovation focused on female bodies, I was told it’s too “niche”. But I kept pitching and pitching until I wrote an article in 2020 that went viral. It was called ‘We need to talk about investors’ problem with vaginas’ and it addressed the reluctance summarized by one venture capitalist who said: ‘I don’t want to talk about vaginas in my Monday morning partner meeting.’

I was angry to learn that the reason we don’t get the innovation we need and deserve is because a bunch of male investors are too embarrassed by the topic. So, I decided to focus all of my energy on writing a book to bring femtech to the mainstream.

I’ve interviewed 100 people for the book, including founders, researchers and investors to highlight the most inspiring innovation being created right now for women across all stages of life.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started your career?

I’m glad I didn’t know the full extent of how challenging it would be to become a journalist and author—otherwise I may have been put off.

What has been one of the biggest challenges in bringing this story to light?

One of the biggest challenges is having the word “vagina” on the cover of my book. A venue refused to host my book launch, an author told me she doesn’t feel comfortable giving me an endorsement, some book shops don’t stock the book or don’t promote the book because they’re embarrassed.

It’s not surprising given the book illustrates the challenges entrepreneurs in the femtech space encounter—as an author I am facing the same challenges now, just in the publishing world.

What has been one of your biggest victories?

I have just written an article for The Times (of London) about femtech and about the book! I hope it will reach as many readers as possible.

What do you wish someone had told you about women’s health?

That the “28-day normal menstrual cycle” is myth!

What are the top things we can do to advocate for women’s health?

Educate ourselves, advocate for ourselves and talk to our friends about things! I had an opportunity to briefly speak to Gloria Steinem for the book and she told me the only way to get over stigma around female bodies is to keep talking about these issues.