WoW Woman in Women's Health I Grace Shaw, Co-Founder and CEO of Agora Health UK
Grace is one half of a dynamic mother–daughter duo transforming the way women access health education. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Agora Health UK, a hormone health specialist, and a passionate advocate for fibroids and women’s health. As a champion for inclusion and diversity in healthcare and a UN Women CSW69, Grace is deeply committed to amplifying women’s voices and driving meaningful change.
Agora Health UK is a women’s health and wellbeing platform dedicated to making health education and hormone testing more accessible. From puberty through post-menopause, they provide trusted resources and guidance to empower women at every stage of life. Their at-home health testing kits cover female hormones, PCOS, fertility, and menopause, complemented by personalised care plans that offer support at every step of the journey. More than a platform, Agora Health has cultivated a warm, engaged community where women feel seen, heard, and supported.
Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
I had studied Politics and International relations and was in a corporate role when my health took a turn for the worse. Having always struggled with very difficult periods it was no surprise in my early twenties that I was diagnosed with fibroids. Getting a diagnosis finally after a lot of painful years was a relief but I also simply couldn’t carry on working my 9-5. After taking some years to navigate my health and feel more physically and mentally myself again I looked back at my health experience as a woman with complete heartbreak and trauma. Feeling dismissed, not taken seriously, feeling like a guinea pig being given hormone after hormone with no real support or understanding of the impact this would have on me, I was frustrated by how the healthcare system still fails us as women today. This lead me to explore female hormones in more depth, I became a hormone health coach and studied for many years the impact of hormones on women’s lives and so Agora Health was born with my mother as co-founder a platform designed to make women’s health education and hormone testing accessible to all women because education is empowerment and that helps women to advocate for themselves.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
I got into health tech industry because of my personal lived experience and it’s not been easy to say the least. There are a lot of people in the health industry that are in it solely for the financial gain and not for actually doing good. It can be very frustrating being a woman and a woman of colour on top of that and sitting across the table from people saying women’s health is niche or not worth the time or investment. Truthfully perhaps one of the hardest parts was the resistance and lack of support from fellow women, we often speak about collaboration in business and startups but I think as women we should do better at lifting each other up, there is plenty of space at the table for all of us and the more the better, that’s why I think.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
We came up with the concept of Agora Health in October 2023 and launched to market the following year. We’ve just celebrated our two years in business so we’re still in growth phase. I would say the biggest obstacle is that women’s health has become a bit of trend and you have a lot of companies just using it to sell and generate profit, there is a lot of misinformation and a lot upregulation in the industry and this can be very frustrating and difficult to navigate when you have a honest and authentic approach.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
We just hosted our largest women’s health event with 100 women coming together to discuss the menopausal journey, this was a real achievement because from conception we really wanted to democratise women’s health education and information and make it age-inclusive and culturally inclusive so seeing so many women come together to learn, share and connect from all walks of life is honestly a dream come true. We’ve also helped over 250 women with our hormone testing kits and personalised care plans helping them navigate their health and get diagnosed faster which is incredibly important to us.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
Next month we are launch our Community Events Series with three amazing events on Racial Inequalities in Healthcare, The Gender Pain Gap and Intimate Wellness and we have some exceptional speakers on those panels. We’re focusing more on how to use data to help support reduce diagnosis time for women and we’re also expanding our services to support companies with consultancy and employee wellbeing helping them deliver evidence based information when it comes to women’s health and wellbeing.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Yes, it is, I think for so long tech was a very male dominated space and it’s amazing that women are taking up space and rightly so as innovators and leaders. Afterall tech is the future and if we’re going to integrate it into healthcare then surely women know their bodies best and they should be leading in the technological innovations.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
The rise of AI in women’s health makes me a little uncomfortable, I think AI has some great features that can be helpful but I think women need face to face contact, person to person conversation. Women’s health is complex and so subjective to the individual and that’s why I think we will see a lot more shift of integrating tech with in person services bridging the gap between the two and finding a really powerful equilibrium.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Know your purpose. People’s health and wellbeing is something that should be treated with the utmost respect and transparency, so know why you want to get into the industry and don’t let anyone or anything make you stray away from that. Make integrity the core of your business.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Atifa Balding founder of Surrey Hills Wellness
Gabs and Anna founders of The Menstrual Health Project
Dr Melis Eda Ekinci founder of Woost
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