A new study finds women worldwide are experiencing higher levels of stress, anxiety, worry, sadness, and anger than they have in ten years.
An analysis firm and a medical technology company surveyed over 66,000 women in 122 countries in one of the most extensive studies on women’s well-being.
In 2021, 43% of respondents reported experiencing worry, 41% reported experiencing stress, 32% reported feeling sad, and 26% reported feeling angry.
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Worry, stress, and anger among women increased by 3%, while sadness rose by 6%, all-time highs since Gallup began tracking emotional health in 2010.
Steve MacMillan, the CEO, said, “The lack of progress and, in some cases, backward momentum justify an even louder wake-up call for world leaders to do more for women, whose well-being underpins the health of families, communities, societies, and economies.”
In addition, researchers found that the gender gap in emotional health between men and women has widened in the last year, as 39% of men report being worried, 39% stressed, 26% sad, and 21% angry.
Women have disproportionately carried the emotional burden of the pandemic because many families faced job insecurity, unstable housing, and medical care and childcare interruptions.
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Dr. Elizabeth Fitelson, director of the women’s program, said, “A lot of that has to do with traditional roles in caregiving and responsibility for ensuring that children are fed and tending to illnesses – even in high-resourced countries.”
Even though both men and women lost their jobs during the pandemic, studies demonstrate that men were more likely to return to employment.
Fitelson said improving access to health care systems, family leave, food security, and housing is the best way to support women’s mental health.
She said, “Focusing on improving the social supports for basic needs would have a far greater intervention than any specific mental health intervention. But mental health treatment is still necessary to manage the aftermath of crises, toxic stress, and trauma.