LINA CHAN FOUNDER & CEO, ADIA

Lina spent most of her career working as a private equity investor in the UK. After experiencing pregnancy loss and difficulty conceiving, she realised the need to build more companies by women for women to help make health more proactive. As founder CEO of Adia she leads a digital health platform empowering women through their fertility journey, and she is mother to three children and two angel babies.

What is the challenge you/your organisation is working on?

Adia empowers women to be proactive about managing their reproductive health by enabling easier access to fertility experts, health tests, and educational courses.  The unfortunate reality is women typically only access these services once they have encountered a fertility problem and have been struggling for months – sometimes years. We want to make fertility management proactive rather than reactive. 

How does this issue affect women? 

Women are increasingly having children later, which means that the rates of infertility and pregnancy complications are on the rise. Unfortunately, due to the taboo nature of these issues, many women only access specialist support once they have been struggling for some time.  This has a number of negative consequences to women’s health outcomes – including their mental health – in addition to adding tremendous cost to health systems.  Given this trend, it is important we begin to help women manage their reproductive health and choices around them proactively.  This will enable better health outcomes, lower medical intervention and improved mental health.

Why is women’s leadership important in improving women’s access to health?

To date a lot of services are not built specifically with women in mind.  Women’s needs are different than those of men, and women also make about 80% of decisions for their family, according to the U.S. Department of Labour.  Having more women building businesses with women in mind will enable a step change in the right direction. Women’s leadership also helps address the taboo at the heart of this challenge and inspires more women to take control of their reproductive health.

How can women amplify their impact on this issue, and what’s necessary to help them combine their efforts?

Women need to continue demanding more specialised services. They need to continue sharing their stories and breaking the silence that surrounds much of women’s health that’s silenced in taboo.  The more we share and support each other the faster the change will take place.  It’s important we also create communities around women’s products so women can easier connect and share.

How important is collaboration to having an impact on this issue? What roles  does an initiative like the Daring Circle play in that shared work?

I see collaboration as very important, and initiatives like the Daring Circle are very positive. The more we can connect with each other and share our learnings and efforts – the faster the change will take place.

This series of stories highlights women leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving positive impact on our most pressing global issues and demonstrating women’s unique contribution to inclusive solutions. It draws on the community of the Daring Circles – workgroups committed to positive impact in areas where women are most affected and where women are demonstrating outsize leadership. Share your stories with the hashtag #Women4Health, and submit your own stories to the Women’s Forum editorial team by emailing Sophie Lambin (sophie.lambin@womens-forum.com).