How girl power played its part in Elizabeth Holmes’ downfall

Once the darling of the biomedical technology industry, Elizabeth Holmes has just been found guilty of four counts of fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, although Holmes is expected to appeal.

Holmes’ convictions relate to her now infamous start-up, Theranos, which promised investors and patients alike the ability to run comprehensive blood tests at a fraction of the cost of competitors, using a single, portable machine, and just a drop of blood. And if that sounds too good to be true, as the world would soon find out, that’s because it was.

The machines didn’t work. Holmes knew they didn’t work. And rather than come clean, when a lucrative deal with Walgreens was struck to provide testing for actual patients, specimens were sent out to third-party conventional labs, or when tests were conducted with Theranos machinery, they received faulty results.

This scandal has been blamed on everything from the American healthcare system, to Silicon Valley hype culture and even capitalism itself. But when looking back at the Theranos saga, from the company’s inception to its founder’s downfall, it’s impossible to overlook the role that Holmes’ gender has played in making this story a standout, for better or worse.

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